With Indonesian Airline's Expansion Comes Problem of Finding Enough Pilots
4 Aug 2012 01:09:01
nytimes.com
JAKARTA "” Susi Pudjiastuti runs a practical airline in a country where impracticalities make her business thrive.
"œDisadvantage provides an opportunity," said Ms. Pudjiastuti, the 48-year-old founder of Susi Air.
With 45 planes in its fleet, the charter airline runs as many as 200 flights a day, serving about 200 destinations and carrying fresh fish to market, the genesis of the company's operations.
Since its start in 2004, demand has increased among mining and palm oil executives needing to reach remote operations. In Papua, the country's easternmost province, Susi delivers vital goods like rice, cement and fuel.
The airline also operates as a commuter service, helping connect people who live in remote areas to primary cities. "œPeople need transportation," Ms. Pudjiastuti said.
She has taken advantage of her country's lack of infrastructure to build a flight network that delivers customers directly to their destinations, cutting costs and travel times as much as 80 percent.
But as her airline expands it has struggled with a persistent and increasingly urgent problem "” finding enough pilots. "œBusiness is so promising, but you have to develop the manpower," she said.
Industry analysts say the country is facing a shortage of as many as 200 pilots per year, causing some carriers to fall back on underqualified staff members. That could damage new airlines struggling to establish themselves in an increasingly crowded market.
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