Pelita Air Service

A rarity: an F-28 Mk.4000 with only one of the emergency doors painted

Pelita Air is an Indonesian airline deeply connected to the industrial development of its country. Its origins date back to 1963 as a transport division of Indonesia's state-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina.

 Its initial objective was to transport the oil company's employees and executives.In 1970, it officially spun off to become an independent company renamed PT Pelita Air Service (PAS), expanding its services to the charter flight sector, government operations, and medical services, though Pelita Air remained owned by Pertamina.

Pelita Air's operational base is located at Pondok Cabe Airport, south of Jakarta, Indonesia. For decades, it consolidated its position as one of the leading providers of charter flights and specialized services (including helicopters for oil platforms). It also made brief incursions into scheduled commercial flights, operating as Pelita Air Venture in the early 2000s.

The inherent characteristics of the Fokker F-28 Fellowship were perfect for Indonesia's geography: its low-pressure tires and robust design allowed it to operate on short or semi-prepared runways on remote islands.

 The airline ended up operating nine units of different variants. Some of these aircraft, such as PK-PJV (christened "Pangkalan Brandan"), were originally used as presidential transport for the Indonesian government before larger aircraft were incorporated. Later, they provided exclusive service to executives of Pertamina and other allied companies.

Presidential transport

For example, the Fokker F-28 Mk.4000 PK-PJY (cn. 11145) was spotted on July 30, 1988, operating in Glasgow for Mobil Oil.

By 1991, the aircraft were painted with "Pelita Air" titles on the fuselage.

Pelita Air Service's Fokker F-28s were retired from active service between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s. They were gradually replaced by more efficient models like the Fokker 70—of which Pelita was the launch customer—and the larger Fokker 100, and later by ATR turboprops and Airbus A320 jets.

A curious fate befell the fuselage of one of these retired units (PK-PJY), which was eventually moved to the Central Java region to be picturesquely converted into a local restaurant. 

The future PK-PJK (cn. 11192) as "Badak," later renamed "Minas." (Frank Ellemers Collection).

 An interesting historical detail occurred with the Fokker F-28 Mk.4000 PK-PJK (cn. 11192), which was spotted in Amsterdam prior to delivery carrying the temporary registration PH-EXW and the name 'Badak.' Once delivered to Pelita, it was renamed 'Minas.' The order to replace the name was surely influenced by the contract signed with the Central Sumatra oil company, Caltex, which was also going to utilize the aircraft. PK-PJK wore 'Operated by Caltex' titles. Minas was Caltex's flagship oil field.

Interior of a Pelita Air Fokker F-28

Pelita Air's Fokker F-28 Fellowships operated at the following airports: Denpasar Bali Ngurah Rai - WADD, Bima, Sumbawa, Ende, Flores, Kupang El Tari Airport, Timor, Singapore – Changi Airport, Jakarta – Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Jakarta International – Soekarno Hatta Airport, Palembang – Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (PLM / WIPP), Pangkalan Brandan—the locality in Sumatra where Indonesia's oil industry was born—Balikpapan, Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Badak Airport - Bontang.Around 2005, Pelita's F-28 PK-PJL (cn. 11111) also operated for KAL STAR, a regional airline flying from Jakarta and Surabaya to Kalimantan island, connecting destinations such as Pangkalan Bun and Pontianak.

With Pelita Air titles

Pelita Air F-28 fleet

* msn. 11042 Mk.1000 PK-PJT dd 09Jan1971. Named “Pangkalan Susu”, rmt. A-2801 Tentara Nacional Indonesia Angkatan Udara 21Dic1983.

* msn. 11073 Mk.1000 PK-PJV dd 10Nov1973. Named “Pangkalan Brandan”, rmt. F-GGKC TAT Touraine Air Transport Dec1987.

* msn. 11030 Mk.1000 PK-PJS dd 02Aug1974. Named “Jatibarang”. Operated for Bouraq starting in 1999. Stored at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport Yakarta  Aug2001.

* msn 11029 Mk.1000 PK-PJU dd 20Dec1974. Named “Cilacap”, rmt. C-FCRW dd 06Sep1995.

* msn. 11146 Mk.4000 PK-PJY dd. 21Mar1980. Named “Aceh”, “Bontang” (Jul1988), “Aceh”. wfu. Seen at Purwokerto region, as a restaurant.

* msn. 11148 Mk.4000 PK-PJW dd. 21Ene1980. Named “Salawati”, rmt. PK-YPJ Jul1995.

* msn. 11178 Mk.4000 PK-PJM dd. 16Oct1981. Named “Matak”.

* msn. 11192 Mk.4000 PK-PJK dd. 25Apr1983. Named “Badak”, “Minas”. Operated by Caltex titles (1985 – 1992). Named “Lenguru”.

* msn. 11111 Mk.4000 PK-PJL dd. Jul1991. Named “Kurau”.

Never delivered #32

 

The 1978 American promotional tour of the Fokker F-28 Mk.4000 also included Colombia, which was the first South American country visited by the new Fellowship model. While there, it performed demonstration flights for Avianca and its subsidiaries, SAM (Sociedad Aérea Medellín) and Aerocóndor. At that time, the Colombian government operated a Fokker F-28 Mk.1000 VIP for presidential transport.

 Although the 1978 tour did not yield any immediate orders or purchases from Colombian airlines, Fokker aircraft were indeed acquired in the following decades. SATENA purchased F-28 Mk.3000s in the 1980s, and Avianca, along with its subsidiary SAM, later acquired Fokker 50s and 100s.

What would have happened if these companies had purchased the Fokker F-28 Mk.4000 back in 1978?

A Rare View of the Argentine Naval Aviation F-28 Fleet

    A photograph taken at Ezeiza in Oct2014 offers a glimpse into the condition of the Argentine Naval Aviation’s Fokker F-28 Mk.3000 fleet.
    Of the three aircraft captured in the image, only 0742/5-T-21 msn. 11150, remained in operational service at the time. Meanwhile, 0741/5-T-20 ms. 11145, had already been stripped of part of its components, reflecting the gradual decline of the fleet.
    As for 0740/5-T-10, ms. 11147, entirely devoid of markings and wearing its characteristic “all-white” appearance, it seemed to have regained a measure of dignity whilst sheltered inside the Ezeiza hangar, where the faint titles of “Armada Argentina” could still just be discerned beneath the paintwork.
    The photograph, received quite by chance through an acquaintance connected to the aviation world, ultimately became a small documentary testament to the final years of these historic naval F-28s.

Read the original text in Spanish HERE.

Never delivered #31

 

In September 1973, Fokker conducted a promotional tour to Brazil, where they  took the opportunity to show case the Fokker F-28 Fellowship.

The Fokker F-28 Mk.1000 Fellowship PH-ZAV (cn.11032) landed in Brazil on September 11, 1973. Three days later, on September 14, it participated in an air show in the city of São Paulo. Between September 14 and 23, 1973, the first international aerospace show was held at São José dos Campos International Airport in the São Paulo metropolitan area, located 90 kilometers from São Paulo.

Finally, on September 24, 1973, the PH-ZAV performed demonstration flights for VARIG, VASP, and the Brazilian Civil Aviation Directorate.

What would have happened if VASP had purchased theFokker F-28 Fellowship?.

Read in case of emergency

 

 Today, the only safety card currently in use in the world is with LADE.

Safety cards are leaflets that graphically detail, with multilingual instructions, the use of seat belts, oxygen masks, and life vests. Additionally, they describe the rapid evacuation procedure of an aircraft and the exact location of the emergency exits. These safety cards are normally located in the seatback pocket of the seat ahead.

Some cards constitute true works of art crafted with a wealth of detail, while others are simpler. Some of them were carefully designed respecting the airlines' corporate identity—enhancing concepts such as "elegance"—or, in other cases, matching the colorful design of the aircraft interiors or its exterior livery.

The Fokker F-28 Fellowship was no exception, and we can find excellent safety cards, which we will detail below.