Everything about Adam Air totally explained
Adam Air, (incorporated as
PT. Adam SkyConnection Airlines), was a privately owned
airline based in
Jakarta,
Indonesia. It operated scheduled domestic services to over 20 cities and international services to
Penang and
Singapore. Its main base was
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta.
Although sometimes referred to as a
low-cost carrier, it marketed itself as an airline which straddles between low-cost and traditional carriers by offering on-board service with meals, but at competitive prices, similar to the model adopted by Singapore-based
Valuair. Prior to the crash of
flight 574, it was the fastest growing low-cost carrier in Indonesia. Adam Air ultimately sold a fifty percent stake of itself to PT Bhakti Investama.
Following the crash of Adam Air Flight 292 in
Batam, PT Bhakti Investama and a business consortium, Bright Star Perkasa which together own 50 percent shares in Adam Air plan to bail out on their investments and sell their shares back to the carrier's founders, Suherman and Sandra Ang. Henry Suparman, investor relations official at Bhakti Investama didn't cite any specific safety incident at Adam Air but said that after nearly one year of investing in Adam Air, Bhakti hasn't seen any significant progress in the airline's handling of safety issues.
Incidents and accidents
In 2006, at least one plane skidded off a runway, and two others flew on with serious gear malfunctions when they should instead have made emergency landings. In addition, Adam Air has had three serious events outlined below.
Flight 782
On
February 11,
2006,
Flight 782, registration number PK-KKE, lost navigational and communications systems twenty minutes into a flight from
Jakarta to
Makassar. The plane was subsequently flown into a radar "black spot" and was lost for several hours, eventually making an emergency landing at
Tambolaka Airport. The pilot in that incident was fired. Adam Air broke multiple safety regulations, including removing an aircraft before it was due for inspection by aviation authorities.
Flight 574
On
January 1 2007, air traffic controllers lost contact with
flight 574 en route. The Aircraft, a
Boeing 737-400 with the registration PK-KKW, had 96 passengers and 6 crew. On January 10, parts of the aircraft's tail stabilizer were found 300m offshore.
The flight recorders and suspected debris have been located, but may not be recovered due to a dispute between Adam Air and the
Indonesian Government over who should pay recovery costs.
Flight 172
On
February 21 2007 Flight 172, an Adam Air
Boeing 737-300 aircraft flying from
Jakarta to
Surabaya with registration PK-KKV, had a hard landing at
Juanda International Airport. The incident caused the body of the plane to crack and bend at the middle, with the tail of the plane drooping towards the ground. There were no reports of serious injuries from the incident. Subsequent flights to the airport were diverted to alternate airports. As a result, six Adam Air 737s were currently grounded awaiting safety checks, but five of these are now back in regular service. Adam Air describes this as "harsh punishment" for an accident it blames on poor weather conditions, but
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said that all Boeing 737-300s should be checked.
Flight 292
On March 10 2008, an Adam Air
Boeing 737-400 aircraft flying from
Jakarta to
Batam skidded 75 metres off the end of the runway while landing in Batam. All passengers survived, with two passengers treated for shock. The plane sustained damage to one wing.
Controversy
Since the crash of flight 574 there has been much controversy surrounding Adam Air. This controversy revolves around two separate, related issues:
safety, and
corruption.
Safety
The safety record of Adam Air has been heavily criticized. Adam Air has reportedly bribed pilots to fly planes they knew were unsafe. However, this contradicts an earlier statement by Adam Air which said that 60% of its total income is spent on
fuel costs. For both of these to be simultaneously true, the company would have to be making a substantial loss, since fuel and maintenance alone would be taking up the entirety of Adam Air's income between them.
Corruption
The
Asia Times says it has spoken to "some well-placed local sources requesting anonymity", who claim that Agung Laksono didn't invest any of his own money into the airline, instead using money available to him through his official government position. This allowed him an unfair advantage for receiving heavily regulated licenses and airport landing rights. The same people say that the Ang family has no previous experience in the aviation industry.
After the incident in which an aircraft with 145 people on board was lost for hours, eventually making an emergency landing in
West Sumba,
East Nusa Tenggara, some 525 kilometers away from its intended destination, the pilots blamed a malfunctioning navigation system. The airline sued all of them since their contract length hadn't been fulfilled. Of note is the assertion that Adam Air isn't attempting to claim for damage caused by the pilots' public accusations of poor safety standards.
On
February 21 2007 it was reporteded that thirteen Adam Air employees, as well as an employee of airport operator
PT Angkasa Pura, working at
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport had been arrested for fraudulent data manipulation. The scheme involved manipulating passenger data to show passengers as leaving the country. This meant that they were automatically charged duty at 30,000 Rupiah each, when in reality they owed none. The money was then split between the fourteen staff members. A computer from the check-in desk, as well as passenger tickets and lists, have been seized.
Warnings and subsequent shutdown
On
March 16,
2007, the Indonesian government announced plans to shut down an unspecified Indonesian air carrier. Although no details were immediately released, it has been revealed that the airline had had a string of recent accidents, making Adam Air the most likely candidate. It was announced on
March 22 that Adam Air was one of seven airlines that will have their licenses revoked within three months unless they can improve their safety standards. The other six airlines involved are
Batavia Air,
Transwisata Prima Aviation,
Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines,
Manunggal Air Services,
Jatayu Airlines and
Kartika Airlines.
As reported on local news, Adam Air reduced many of its flights. Adam Air decreased its frequencies into only several flights departing both from Jakarta Airport and Surabaya Airport. Adam Air has now rejected any booking.
On 16 March 2008, Adam Air was given 21 days by the Indonesian government to decide whether to close down after safety concerns prompted an investment group to unload its 50 percent stake in the airline. The following day, the president of Adam Air announced that more than half of the fleet had been seized after the airline defaulted on payments.
"Out of 22 planes, now we only have 10 because 12 of them have been declared in default. The other 10 have been declared in default as well, but I'm still trying to work out a way to restructure the payments," Adam Suherman was quoted as saying.
18 March 2008, AFP reported that the Indonesian government revoked their license effectively grounding the airline.
Destinations
Fleet
The Adam Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (at
March 2008):
Fleet renovation
On
January 18, 2007, Adam Air announced that it intended to replace its fleet of Boeing 737-200/300/400s with Airbus 320s and Boeing 737-800s beginning in 2008. It also announced the possibility of new destinations. It will lease 10 737s in 2007, to bring the fleet to a total number of 32 aircraft. It has already leased six Airbus A320 planes and purchased another 24 to replace most of its existing fleet, and intends to acquire 30
Boeing 737-800 or
737-900 jets, to bring it up to a 60-plane fleet.
The scheme will take five years. Adam Air has said that the January 1st loss of Flight 574 won't affect the expansion plans.
A
Boeing 737-400 formerly leased by
Serbian airline,
Jat Airways, will soon arrive into the Adam Air fleet having already been painted into the Adam Air livery and receiving
Indonesian registration (PK-KMF) in
Belgrade,
Serbia.
(External Link
). The
Boeing 737-400 involved in the crash on
January 1st,
2007 as
Adam Air Flight 574 was also previously leased by
JAT Airways, before it came to
Adam Air.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Adam Air'.
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