Indonesia’s TransNusa to be ARJ21’s int’l launch operator
TransNusa (8B, Kupang) is set to become the ARJ21-700’s international launch operator after B-099Y (msn 186) was tracked doing circuits around the COMAC facility at Shanghai Pudong in the Indonesian carrier’s full livery.
The jet, which is expected to deliver to Indonesia at some point in 2022, is part of a commitment with COMAC for thirty ARJ21s that China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC) and TransNusa entered into in January this year. The jets are scheduled to be delivered in phases before 2026.
The Chinese lessor controls a 35.68% stake in the airline through Linkasia Airlines Group Limited (formerly known as Aviation Synergy Limited) in which it it owns a 72.82% stake. The remaining 51% of TransNusa is held by PT Panca Global International Indonesia, which is itself controlled by one Leo Budiman. Since acceding to TransNusa’s share capital, CALC has set about reorienting the airline’s operations to become more low-cost oriented while at the same time improving its corporate governance structure, clearing up historical issues (taxation, contracts, etc.), reorganizing its international professional management and operations team, and comprehensively improving its operational standardization.
Despite this recent development, earlier this month, CALC warned in a bondholder’s update that in light of the impact of COVID-19 on the Indonesian market, Linkasia Airlines Group recorded shared losses resulting in CALC making provision in its investment in the firm totalling approximately HKD205 million Hong Kong dollars (USD26.3 million), compared with an investment cost of approximately HKD218 million (USD27.95 million) for the 72.82% stake as of December 31, 2020.
“If the Indonesian regional airline and Aviation Synergy Ltd continue to suffer losses and the civil aviation market has not recovered, we may have to provide additional funding injection to maintain the business, which may result in further write-down of our investment cost and provisions,” it warned.
Aside from the commercial aspect of its TransNusa investment, CALC plans to use the airline to showcase the ARJ21’s operations to the international market given that so far, the sixty-nine ARJ21s that have been built, have been for Chinese operators for the most part. In addition, China is eager to prove the quality and viability of its aeronautical products in the Indonesian market given the MA-60’s poor performance with Merpati (MZ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta).
That said, TransNusa’s ARJ21s will be supplemented by A320-200Ns sourced from CALC’s order book, the first of which – PK-TLA (msn 9440) – arrived in South East Asia earlier this month ahead of the airline’s relaunch.