Freighter Airline Raindo United Services Acquires Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC)

Indonesia-based freighter operator Raindo United Services has gained its air operator certificate (AOC) and is hoping to launch operations in the coming months.

The airline said this week that it had been awarded the AOC by the directorate general of civil aviation and the director of airworthiness and aircraft operation of the ministry of transportation.

The carrier will launch operations with two 23-tonne capacity Boeing 737-800BCFs, with the first (PK-RUS) delivered on July 14 and the second (PK-RFS) arriving on August 9.

Raindo plans to offer both domestic and international services.

Earlier this year, the carrier said domestic routes would include Jakarta, Medan, Balikpapan, Makassar and Surabaya, as well as international routes to Singapore, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

The first passenger-to-freighter conversion was completed by Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services Co. Ltd. (BSAS), and the second by Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (STAECO).

Both of the aircraft are being leased to Raindo by AerCap.

When the carrier was first announced, founder Benny Rustanto, said: “The presence of Raindo United Services is expected to be a catalyst for a change that can support the development of the MSME (Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises) industry in Indonesia, particularly on the logistics side through seamless and sustainable connectivity.

“We realise that the MSME sector in Indonesia has greater potential if supported by a logistics ecosystem that synchronizes the traffic flow – both internationally and locally – from the point of departure to the destination.

“The ecosystem of Raindo United Services enables MSME players to be more competitive by overcoming existing obstacles such as high logistics prices, inefficient shipping processes, limited access to distribution channels and others.”