PDG HELICOPTERS, LTD.: The Heliport, Dalcross, Inverness, Scotland, IV1 2JB, United Kingdom; Phone 44 (1667) 462740; Fax 44 (1667) 462376; Http://www. pdg-helicopters. com; Year Founded 1995. Black Isle Helicopters, Ltd. and Dollar Helicopters, Ltd., both subsidiaries of the Morristown, New Jersey-based Lynton Group, are merged with Inverness-based PLM Helicopters, Ltd. in July 1995 to form the PLM Dollar Group. The enlarged concern, which will fly as
PDG Helicopters, is now the largest onshore helicopter charter operator in the U. K. and boasts a combined 40 years of operational experience.
Under the direction of CEO John Poland, the company engages in a variety of helicopter work, including construction support, filming, corporate and passenger charter, fire fighting, live fish transfers, and forestry and arboricultural support. During the remainder of the decade, bases are opened throughout the U. K. and the fleet comes to include a mix of 15 Eurocopter AS-315s, AS-350s, and AS-355s, plus Bell 206B JetRangers.
PEACE AIR, LTD.: P. O. Box 6036, Peace River, Alberta, T8S 1S1, Canada; Phone (403) 624-3060; Fax (403) 624-3063; Http://www. peaceair. com; Year Founded 1962. W. Gayton organizes Peace Air at Peace River, Alberta, in 1962 to offer scheduled passenger air taxi flights throughout the prairie and northern areas of the country. In addition, charter and contract service flights are also undertaken.
Three decades later, in the early 1990s, the company employs 12 workers and a fleet of 1 Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain, 1 PA-31-310 Navajo, 1 PA-23 Aztec, 1 Cessna 210, 2 Cessna 206s, 2 Cessna 185s, and 1 Cessna 172.
By 1997, Albert Cooper is president and oversees a workforce of 17. The fleet includes 3 each Cessna 172s, C-206s, C-210s and 2 each Nava-jos and PA-34 Senecas. Revenues total C$2 million.
During these years, regular scheduled and charter flights are offered to Edmonton City Center Airport, Calgary, Grande Prairie, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, and Prince George.
A new Pilatus PC-12 joins the fleet in 2000 as scheduled service begins to Jasper/Hinton on September 5.
When new Calgary startup Capital City Air, Ltd. begins flying deep-discount services in August, it bills itself as a deep-discount alternative to WestJet Airlines, Ltd. and Air Canada, Ltd. By November, Capital City’s British Aerospace Jetstreams are having so many maintenance problems that flights must be cancelled and many customers are lost.
As the year ends, Capital City is in both operational and fiscal distress and its board of directors is forced to take drastic action. An arrangement is worked out with Peace Air under which it will take over operation of the carrier at the end of January, replacing the Jetstreams with a PC-12. On January 25, all 47 of Capital City’s employees will be sacked and negotiations with Peace will begin in earnest on a joint venture or merger.
PEACH AIR, LTD.: United Kingdom (1997-1999). Peach Air is established at London (LGW) in the spring of 1997 to offer charter and inclusive-tour flights to holiday destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean. A subsidiary of Caledonian Airways, Ltd. and Goldcrest Holidays, the new company is equipped with 2 used Boeing 737-204s and 2 Lockheed L-1011-385 TriStar 1s wet-leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic, H. F. Operations commence on May 1 and continue during the remainder of the year.
While on approach to London (LGW) from Dubrovnik on August 13, 1998, a B-737-204 with 6 crew and 115 suffers a sudden loss of cabin pressure after a crack occurs in a cargo door. The captain and a flight attendant loose consciousness, but quick action by the first officer allows the little Boeing to make a safe emergency landing. The captain and four passengers are taken to hospital with minor injuries.
By November 1, the U. K. charter airline business is rapidly approaching consolidation. In late October, Thomas Cook Group, which has recently purchased and begun to merge both Sunworld and its house carrier Airworld Aviation, Ltd., as well as Flying Colours Airlines, Ltd., acquires Carlson LeisureGroup and its airlines Caledonian Airways, Ltd. (2) and Peach Air.
Through the move, Thomas Cook gains Caledonian’s slots at London (LGW) and Manchester and with 32 aircraft, now owns the second largest fleet among the nation’s charter carriers. Plans are announced for an increase of service from London (STN), Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, and Glasgow. The fleet will also be rationalized, with only the TriStars seen as certain for retention.
As the year ends, Thomas Cook Group, which has assigned its own name to the enlarged travel group, is conducting marketing surveys to determine which airline brand name has the best public image and should be retained for the larger carrier. Early betting is that the names Caledonian (with its memory of delays and incidents) and Peach Air will disappear in addition to that of Airworld, with the romantic Flying Colours winning the label. A final decision is promised before the start of the 1999 summer holiday season.
Flying Colours is indeed the surviving airline and its enlarged fleet of 34 aircraft begins the new summer holiday season at the end of March 1999. The amalgamation comes as the European Commission grants permission for Thomas Cook to merge with the Carlson Leisure Group’s U. K. travel interests.
PEARL AVIATION (PTY.), LTD.: 7 Slade Crt., Darwin Airport, Darwin, Northern Territory, 0821, Australia; Phone 61 8-89206666; Fax 61 8-89 453668; Year Founded 1970. Pearl Aviation is established at Darwin in 1970 to provide airport services and to operate executive and small group charters and bush flights throughout the Northern Territory and later, across the nation. By 2000, the company employs 22 full-time workers and operates 2 Beech King Air 200s and 1 each Dassault Falcon 50 and Cessna 550 Citation II.
PEARL AVIATION AUSTRALIA (PTY.), LTD.: Fountelroy Ave., Perth Airport, Perth, Western Australia, 6104, Australia; Phone 61 (8) 9479 2555; Fax 61 (8) 9479 2525; Year Founded 1964. Begun at Wittenoom, Western Australia, in 1964 as the FBO Skywest Aviation (Pty.), Ltd., the company sets up a charter operation in 1967 initially known as Pilbarra Air Services (Pty.), Ltd. In 1972, the concern is relocated to Perth Airport at Redcliffe and renamed Sky-west Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. Skywest wins a government contract in 1978 to provide Coastwatch services on behalf of the Customs Service. As the decade ends, the carrier is operating not only this duty, but some scheduled services and charter flights on behalf of area oil and mining companies.
Stillwell Airlines, Ltd., the largest commuter operator in the region, is purchased in 1980 and merged. Transwest Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. is taken over in January 1982 and two more companies are swallowed in 1983: H. C. Sleigh Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. in July and Tamworth-based East-West Airlines (Pty.), Ltd. in December. East-West, which has grown to become the nation’s largest regional airline, is allowed to retain its previous moniker.
After East-West is sold to Ansett Australia (Pty.), Ltd. in 1987, Sky-west Airlines maintains its regional routes independently until 1994, when it, too, becomes an Ansett feeder. Two years later, in 1996, Sky-west Aviation is sold to Paspalye Pearl Group and renamed. The Customs Service contract ends in 1997, but a new arrangement is made under which the company flies two Fairchild Metro 23 s on behalf of the New South Wales Aerial Ambulance service.
As the decade ends, Pearl, the largest provider of specialist aviation services in Australia, concentrates on the provision of maintenance planning and aircraft acquisition services, performance analysis, and design and training
A total of 191 workers are employed at the beginning of 2000.
A Cessna 550 Citation II is now based at Perth for charters, with two Beech Super King Air 200s housed at Darwin.
PEARSON AIRCRAFT: United States (1969-1995). Earl Pearson establishes his flying school and charter operation at Fairchild International Airport, Port Angeles, Washington, in October 1969. Employing 1 each Cessna 207 and Cessna 182, he inaugurates scheduled air taxi flights on November 1, 1972. Over the next six years, Pearson maintains operations linking his base with Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia; his fleet grows to include 4 Cessna 402Cs.
By 1978, enplanements total 18,446. Boardings jump 59.9% in 1979 to 46,000. Freight accelerates by 48.8% to 138,000 pounds.
Scheduled operations are suspended in October 1981 when James Sherrell and San Juan Airlines purchase Pearson’s scheduled division. Charter and air taxi flights are resumed and continue; meanwhile, following the demise of San Juan Airlines in 1986, a limited number of scheduled services are once more offered. In 1993-1994, Phil M. Pearson is CEO. Flights cease in 1995.
PEE DEE AIR EXPRESS: United States (1980-1982). Robert T. Fulmer forms Pee Dee as an all-cargo commuter at Florence, South Carolina, in early 1980. Equipped with a pair of Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains, Fulmer’s tiny operation flies 1.68 million FTKs of freight by year’s end. Small package delivery operations on behalf of air freight forwarders and others continue in 1981, but the overall number of FTKs operated declines 23.4% to 1.36 million. Operations cease in the recessionary year of 1982.
PEGASUS AIR: United States (1984). Pegasus Air is established at Washington, D. C. (lAD) in 1984 as the airline division of an FBO/ charter operation to provide scheduled passenger services to Philadelphia and to Fayetteville, North Carolina. Although Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain daily roundtrips are duly inaugurated, they can only be sustained for a few months.
PEGASUS AIRLINES, LTD.: United Kingdom (1958-1961). Located at Blackbushe Airport, Claydon Aviation, Ltd. doing business as Pegasus Airlines, is established in January 1958 to operate charter flights from that location, as well as London (LTN). A Hunting Clan Air Transport, Ltd. Vickers Viking is acquired in February and employed to initiate inclusive-tour flights to Mediterranean destinations, beginning at the end of March. Ostend and Jersey are visited during the summer season and into the fall.
In early 1959, two more Vikings are purchased and these are employed to launch the year’s charter season from the new pick-up point of Glasgow. When the airport at Blackbushe is closed in 1960, Pegasus transfers its base to London (LGW). From the new facility, the carrier also inaugurates a scheduled domestic route to Blackpool.
The company consolidates all of its inclusive-tour activities at Gatwick Airport in the spring of 1961. In October, Pegasus, in significant fiscal difficulty, announces that it must shut down. The last flights are operated in December.
PEGASUS AIRLINES (PEGASUS HAVA TASIMACILIGI A. S.): 34800 Istayon Caddesi, Yesilyurt, Istanbul, 34800, Turkey; Phone 90 (212) 663-2931; Fax 90 (212) 663-5458; Code PG; Year Founded
1989. Pegasus is established at Istanbul on December 1, 1989 to offer charter and inclusive-tour services to destinations in Europe, the Mideast, and the Mediterranean. Majority shareholding is held by Aer Lingus Irish Airlines, Ltd. Revenue operations commence on April 15, 1990, with a pair of Boeing 737-4Y0s chartered from GPA. One of the jetliners is withdrawn in 1991, but is replaced in 1992 with a B-737-4Q8, also chartered, from the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC).
Operations continue apace in 1993; however, in 1994, the carrier is sold to Yapi Kredi Bank and M. Karamehmet. O. Berkman is chairman and his chartered fleet includes 2 B-737-4Q8s and 1 B-737-4Y0.
Destinations visited from Ankara, Antalya, Aoana, Dalaman, Ismir, and Istanbul include: Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Nuremberg, Helsinki, Joensu, Jyvsaklia, Kuopio, Oulu, Rovaniemi, Oslo, Stavangar, Tromso, Trondheim, Cork, Dublin, Isle of Man, London (LGW), Manchester, Newcastle, Prestwick, Lyons, Nantes, Mulhouse, Paris (ORY), Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Tel Aviv.
Another leased B-737-4Y0 is received at the beginning of 1995. When the winter vacation schedule begins in the U. S. in October, both B-737-4Q8s are subleased to Carnival Air Lines and are sent to Miami wearing a hybrid color scheme.
A third chartered B-737-4Y0 is acquired in 1996 as the two B-737-4Q8s remain with Carnival Air Lines. Destinations visited in 1997 include Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Cork, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Helsinki, Isle of Man, Joensuu, Jyaskyla, Kuopio, London (LGW), Lyons, Manchester, Mulhouse, Nantes, Newcastle, Nuremburg, Oslo, Oulu, Paris (ORY), Prestwick, Rotterdam, Rovaniemi, Stavanger, Tel Aviv, Tromso, and Trondheim.
In late September, when Carnival Air Lines is taken over by Pan American World Airways (2), the leased B-737-4Q8s are returned. At the same time, orders are placed for one each B-737-4Q8 and B-737-8Q8 for delivery in spring 1998 and spring 1999, respectively.
The B-737-4Q8, leased from ILFC, arrives under a five-year charter in March 1998. Flights continue and in November a B-737-4Y0 is leased to Ryan International Airlines; Ryan will operate the aircraft for Trans Global Tours on winter season package tour vacation flights from Minneapolis (MSP) to Florida and Las Vegas.
Simultaneously, the B-737-4Q8 is subchartered to Winair. The U. S. carrier will employ the jetliner, beginning in March 1999, to operate replacement service from Newark and Islip, New York, to Florida on behalf of Sun Jet International Airlines.
The B-737-8Q8 is delivered on March 25. Configured in an alleconomy cabin arrangement, the new aircraft is employed to routes that connect several Turkish cities with destinations in Europe. Upon the failure of Winair, the aircraft is returned.
During the fall, an alliance is entered into with K2000, Ltd. A B-737-4Y0 is subleased to the Auckland, New Zealand-based start-up, allowing it to begin revenue flights on December 1.
The Pegasus workforce totals 237 at the beginning of 2000. Citing lack of demand, K2000, Ltd. shuts down on January 11. The “Baby Boeing” is returned to Turkey. The B-737 fleet now includes 2 Dash-86Ns, 4 each Dash-4Q8s and Dash-4Y0s, and 1 Dash-42R.
A B-737-4Q8 is subleased to Air Algerie, S. A. in February to operate European and regional services.
The second two of a seven-plane request for Next Generation B-737-86Ns are delivered on April 30 and June 2, respectively.
Another B-737-4Q8 is forced to make an emergency landing at Dusseldorf on September 5 after smoke is reported in its cabin. A newly received Next Generation B-737-86N is subleased to Khalifa Airways, S. A. on December 29.
PELAIR AVIATION (PTY.), LTD.: P. O. Box 208, Mascot, New South Wales, Australia; Phone 2-9669-3555; Fax 2-9317-5505; Http://www. pelair. com. au; Code QH; Year Founded 1996. L. Lewis establishes Pel-Air at Botany, New South Wales, in 1966, to offer charter and contract service flights. Operations commence and focus largely on the provision of services to the oil exploration industry in Thailand, Malaysia, Burma, Singapore, and New Guinea under contract to Total, Exxon, and British Petroleum.
Later, in the 1980s, the company begins subcontract service for the larger freight airlines and courier flights for the nation’s mining industry. By 1994, the fleet includes 1 Shorts 330, 1 Dassault Falcon 20, and 7 Israeli Aircraft Industries IAI-1124 Westwinds.
In 1995, the company wins a contract from the Australian Department of Defence for the provision of six IAI-1124s for use in such diverse activities as target towing, personnel training, and defense system calibration and testing.
Thirty years after start-up, the company, in 1996, also acquires a fleet of Fairchild Metro IIs and Metro IIIs with which to supplement the company’s specialized freight activities.
In 1997-1999, Pelair flies not only IAI Westwinds and Metros, but several other executive types, including Learjet 35As and 36s and Beech Super King Air 200s. During these years, the company places enhanced emphasis on its time-sensitive “Must Travel Fast Courier” service as well as its “Fly-In/Fly-Out” air service for the mining industry, both products initially begun earlier in the decade. Pel Air also becomes an audited and approved carrier for the UN and even transports the Sydney 2000 Olympic bid committee around Africa.
In 2000, a Metro III is leased to McKinely Air Charter (Pty.), Ltd. (Macair).
PELANGI AIR SDN. BHD.: 18th Floor, Menara Tr, 161-B Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, 50450, Malaysia; Phone 60 (3) 262-4453; Fax 60 (3) 262-4515; Http://www. pelangiair. com; Code 9P; Year Founded 1987. The regional Pelangi (which in the Bahasa Malaysian language translates as “rainbow”) is formed at Subang International Airport, Kuala Lumpur, on September 1, 1987. Its purpose is to take over the operations of Malaysia Air Charter, Ltd. (nicknamed MACair) and provide scheduled services in addition to the charter flights of PanMalaysian Air Transport, Ltd.
Malaysian Airline System, Ltd. (MAS) holds 11% shareholding in the semi-state carrier and Dato Abdul Aziz is named chairman/CEO. Other owners of the company, capitalized at $1.25 million U. S., include the state government of Terengganu (44%), Wira Keris Engineering, which is controlled by the state government of Perak (33%), and Malaysian Helicopter Services (11%). Led by Capt. Ismail A. Bakar as general manager, five MAS executives are seconded over to establish the new company on a firm footing.
Equipped with a pair of brightly liveried de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters and manned by a staff of 25, General Manager Bakar’s company inaugurates third-level flights to Ipoh, Malacca, and Penang on January 1, 1988. Additional destinations added during the year include Johor Baharu, Kuantan, Kerish, Kuala Terengganu, Kota Baharu, and the island resort of Tioman. Pretax profits total M$500,000.
Two Dornier 228-208Ks are acquired in 1989-1990 and services are inaugurated to Padang and Pekanbaru, Indonesia, and Singapore. One of the two turboprops acquired is the Petromas, which had previously operated on behalf of MACair.
Enplanements total 45,000 in the former year and 60,000 in the latter, while profits in 1989 are M$685,000, reaching M$1 million a year later.
A Dornier 228-208K is acquired in early 1991. During the first quarter, orders are placed for two Fokker 50s, with options taken on two more. When Malaysian Airlines, Ltd. (MAS) initiates services to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in the spring, the third-level carrier is forced to abandon its plan to do so. Still, a new route is started to Batam Island, Indonesia, in April. The first Fokker 50 arrives during October and enters service on November 1.
Another Fokker 50 arrives in February 1992 plus a fourth Dornier 228-208K. Zahari Mohammed Noor now becomes general manager. The new Fokkers open services from Kuala Lumpur to Btama and Padang in Indonesia and replace a Dornier 228-208K on an earlier service from Kuala Lumpur to Btama.
On February 3, 1993, Pelangi opens joint return service with SilkAir, Ltd. (employing the former’s Dorniers) between Malaysia’s Tioman Island and Seletar, Singapore.
The fleet in 1994 includes 3 Dornier 228-208Ks, 1 228-212K, and 2 Fokker 50s, 1 of which is leased from Malaysian Airlines, Ltd. (MAS). Tan Sri Saw Hwat Lye becomes chairman, with Abdul Rahman Dat Samsu as general manager/CEO. Orders are placed in 1995 for two each de Havilland Canada DHC-8-200s and DHC-8-300s with which to replace the Fokker 50s. The company begins to suffer from labor problems. When the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation declares the runway on Pangkor Island to be unsafe, Pelangi is forced to suspend its twice-daily return flights from Kuala Lumpur.
Airline employment stands at 339 in 1996 and three more Fokker 50s arrive, including another MAS machine. Markets served include Banda Aceh, Ipoh, Johore Baharu, Kerteh, Kuantan, Malacca, Medan, Padang, Palembang, Pekan Baru, Penang, Seletar, and Tioman Island.
Due to a mass exodus of pilots, the company is forced to cancel over 175 flights in the month after October 16.
It is announced on November 27 that Pelangi will be purchased by Malaysian Airlines, Ltd. (MAS) early in the new year. The flag carrier already holds an 18% stake in Pelangi via its parent Malaysian Helicopter Services Sdn. Bhd.
On January 2, 1997, the company is purchased by MAS (18%) and three institutions associated with the Terengganu state government (82%). Chairman Lye and General Manager Samsu are allowed to remain.
The summer Asian economic crisis that ravages Indonesia also impacts Pelangi. On September 15, the thrice-weekly return services from Banda Aceh to Kuala Lumpur via Penang are suspended. Weekly frequencies are reduced from seven to three to Pekanbaru in Riau, from seven to five to Padang in West Sumatra, from seven to four to Medan in North Sumatra, and from seven to three from Palembang in South Sumatra. It also does not replace the Fokker 50s as originally planned.
Unlike several other Indonesian air transport firms, the company does not fold during the Asian currency crisis and, indeed, will recover from the fiscal difficulties that situation creates. In 1998, twice-daily return service is resumed between Kuala Lumpur to Pangkor Island. The number of flights to cities in Sumatra is now increased.
Pelangi’s schedule is sometimes erratic, particularly in the matter of scheduled charters. In mid-August 1999, the Perak government complains that the apparent uncertainties surrounding Pelangi service to Pangkor Island are beginning to affect tourism. State government leaders demand that the airline improve its performance.
At the end of October, the thrice-weekly route from Banda Aceh to Kuala Lumpur via Penang is reopened.
The number of weekly return frequencies from Padang, capital of West Sumatra, to Kuala Lumpur is doubled from three to six during the fall of 2000.
PELICAN EXPRESS: 7501 Pembroke Road, West Hollywood, Florida 33023, United States; Phone (305) 966-9750; Fax (305) 8858271; Code PEX; Year Founded 1992. Pelican is set up at West Hollywood in 1992 to operate regional FAR Part 135 charter flights to regional destinations. Services commence and continue with a fleet that includes two IAI Jet Commanders and three HFB Hansa Jets.
PELIKAN BLUE LINE: Podgorica, 81000, Montenegro, Year Founded 1997. Privately owned Pekikan is established at Podgorica in 1997 by its CEO/owner Dragan Ivancevic, to offer passenger air taxi flights as well as to provide pilot training. Revenue operations commence with 1 each Aerospatiale Gazele helicopter, Cessna 172, and Piper Warrior. The company also operates the government’s Cessna 421 Golden Eagle under contract. These operations are continued in 1998-1999.
Early in 2000, the company receives an air operator certificate from the Montenegro government for the initiation of scheduled passenger service. Two Let L-410UVPs are acquired and at the end of March, weekly return flights are inaugurated from Podgorica and Tivat to Bari in Italy and Banjaluka, Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the summer, a second flight is introduced between Podgorica and Bari and new weekly roundtrips begin between Podgorica and Skopje.
CEO Ivancevic tells Flight International on September 26 that he is planning to grow his workforce to 60 early in the new year and acquire larger aircraft in order to expand his scheduled network throughout Europe.
PELITAAIR SERVICE: Jalan Abdul Muls 52-56A, Jakarta, 10160, Indonesia; Phone 62 (21) 231-2030; Fax 62 (21) 231-2216; Code EP; Year Founded 1963. PAS is the commercial flight subsidiary of Perta-mina, the national oil corporation of Indonesia. Formed in early 1963, the company’s principal mission is to support its parent as Dinas Pener-bangan Pertamina, a department within the company. The unit provides logistical services and support for resource exploration with an initial fleet of 1 Aero Commander and 2 Douglas DC-3s.
On January 24, 1970, the company is reformed and tasked to provide contract, charter, and leasing operations in support of the national oil and gas industry.
Operations are undertaken with Fokker F.27s, de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otters, and Shorts SC-7 Skyvans. Between April and May 15, a BAC 1-11-416 is leased from its manufacturer; it will be chartered again in 1974-1975. On both occasions, the aircraft is subleased to Merpati Nusantara Airlines to fly Australian passengers from Darwin to Denpasar on the island of Bali.
Flights continue in 1976-1977. The company now has the opportunity to perform a useful public service. When Lockheed in the summer of 1978 dispatches an L-100-30 civil Hercules demonstrator to Indonesia for examination by the oil industry, it provides a series of twice-daily preview flights from Jakarta to Padang and Jambi, Sumatra. Rather than fly empty, the aircraft transports 1,300 families from the capital region to their new homes in the government’s resettlement territories.
Flights continue without incident in 1979; however, there are two accidents in 1980. A chartered CASA C-212 Aviocar 100 with 3 crew and 10 passengers crashes into Cemonyet Mountain on January 23 in bad weather; there are no survivors. Having run out of fuel, an F.27-400 freighter with four crew crashes onto Misool Island on October 13; this time, there are no fatalities.
In 1981, PAS becomes a “profit center,” with a separate headquarters located at Jalan Abdul Muis No. 52-56A Jakarta; its fleet is based at Pondok Cabe, known as Pondok Cabe Airfield.
For a period in the 1980s, Pelita continues to be engaged in the government-sponsored transmigration effort to relocate thousands of citizens from heavily populated Java to other islands in the archipelago. A private operation, PAS releases neither traffic nor financial data. Beyond the 1,300 families transported in the Lockheed demonstration, no one knows how many people the company relocates.
While descending from 3,000 ft. on January 24, 1984, an IPTN (CASA) NC-212-200 Aviocar with two crew and seven passengers crashes into a mountain near Manado (six dead).
Toward the end of the decade, the fleet comprises 8 Fokker F.28-1000/4000s, 2 Fokker F.27s, 6 Lockheed L-382G Hercules freighters, 5 de Havilland Canada DHC-7-103s, 3 Transall C-160Ps, 3 British Aerospace BAe (HS) 125-600Bs, 8 Shorts SC-7 Skyvans, 4 IPTN (CASA) Indonesian-made CN-212-100 Aviocars, 8 IPTN (CASA) NC-212-200s, 2 Piper PA-31 Navajos, and 40 helicopters.
An IPTN (CASA) NC-212-200 Aviocar with 3 crew and 13 passengers reports mechanical problems and ditches into the Java Sea on January 2, 1990 (9 dead).
The equipment of Director Oedyono Adwisastro’s 2,199-employee company is upgraded in the early 1990s. In 1991, the fleet includes 1 leased BAe (BAC) 1-11-401AK, 2 F.28-1000s, 5 F.28-4000s, the 5 DHC-7-103s and 3 C-160Ps, now upgraded by the addition of 3 C-160NGs and 1 BAe 146-200. The Fokker Friendships and one Hercules are removed. Orders are outstanding for a Fokker 100, a Grum-man G-111 Albatross, and one each Grumman Gulfstream II and Gulfstream III.
The fleet in 1992 features the delivered Fokker 100, the Grumman G-111 Albatross, 2 Grumman Gulfstreams, the remainder of the 1991 fleet, and 54 helicopters, including 34 German-made MMB BO-105Cs. In 1993, airline employment stands at 2,153.
Services continue apace in 1994 as orders are placed for five Fokker 70s with which to replace the F.28s. To assist Sempati Air with capacity requirements on its new route from Jakarta to Christmas Island, the company leases to it the F.28-4000 Kurau.
The first new Fokker 70 is delivered at the end of September 1995. Two more Fokker 70s arrive in 1996 and in July the company signs a memorandum of understanding with Lafayette, Louisiana-based Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. to cooperate on the upcoming $2-billion NATUNA offshore project, which is being jointly developed by Esso and Indonesia’s government oil company. Both companies will provide full-time offshore flight service within two years.
Two additional Fokker 70s enter service during 1997 as the company is entrusted by the UN to perform light operations in Africa and Southeast Asia for humanitarian missions. Drawing on its income from the energy industry during the time of Indonesia’s economic upheaval, Pelita continues flying in 1998. It does, however, remove the British Aerospace BAe 146-200 Statesman executive aircraft acquired back in 1986.
The Fokker F.28-4000 Matak is leased to Air Ivoire (Societe Ivoiri-enne de Transport Aerien, S. A) in September 1999. A new Avro RJ85 is received before Christmas.
A total of 977 workers are employed at the beginning of 2000. The fixed-wing fleet now includes Fokker 100s, Fokker 70s, Fokker F.28-1000s/-4000s, Gulfstream G-IIIs, DASH-7s, CASA 212-200s, and an Avro RJ85. The rotary-wing component includes Sikorsky S-76, Bolkow NBO-105, Eurocopter SA-330J Puma, and SA-332C Super Puma helicopters.
While on final approach to a bush field in Aceh Province on a December 19 Exxon charter from Medan, a DASH-7 is forced to abort and pull up when gunmen open fire on it from the ground. The de Havilland is hit by at least three bullets, but is able to safely return to its point of origin.
PEM AIR, LTD.: Pembrooke 8, Area Municipal Airport, RR 6, Pembrooke, Ontario K8A6W7, Canada; Phone (613) 687-8139; Fax (613) 687-5166; Http://www. pemair. on. ca; Code PD; Year Founded 1970. A group of Pembroke and area businessmen set up Pem Air, Ltd. in the spring of 1970 to undertake scheduled air taxi flights to Toronto. Employing a Beech 18, the company inaugurates revenue services from Pembroke and Area Municipal Airport in late May.
An ex-Great Lakes Airlines, Ltd. Douglas DC-3 is acquired in 1971, followed by a second in 1972. These are employed to stretch routes to North Bay and Montreal. A third DC-3 is acquired in 1976. Two years later, in 1978, one of the Douglas transports is replaced by a new Beech 99. In 1979, the last two DC-3s are withdrawn and in 1980, two Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains are placed into service.
President Delbert A. O’Brien oversees a workforce of 20 in 1981. The following year, the Beech 99 is sold to Bearskin Lake Air Service, Ltd. In 1983-1984, a third Navajo Chieftain is purchased. By 1987, a total of six PA-31-350s are in service and a new market has been opened at Cornwall.
Two Navajo Chieftains are withdrawn in 1989. In 1990, another Navajo Chieftain is withdrawn and replaced by a Beech King Air 100. In 1992, the fleet is further downgraded; the remaining Pipers are replaced by two more King Air 100s. Operations continue largely without change in 1993-1996.
To replace air service lost with the closure of NorOntair, Ltd. in 1995, the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission on June 1, 1997 provides C$150,000 per year for two years to nine northeastern communities in the province. The funds will be employed by the cities to fund replacement flights. Pem Air receives C$900,000 to link six of these towns and cities.
Under the direction of General Manager Jason O’Brien, the Pembroke-based carrier starts daily Navajo Chieftain service under the program from Elliot Lake to Toronto via Gore Bay. During the remainder of the month, Pem Air makes arrangements to station a PA-31-350 and ground crew at both Elliot Lake and Wawa.
Using Elliot Lake as a hub, Pem Air launches daily service on July 1 to Chapleau, Hornepayne, and Wawa. It also serves Kirkland Lake and the Tri-Towns (through Earlton) with improved scheduling to Sudbury and Elliot Lake. From those points, flights are offered to Toronto. It is expected that the increased feed from northern Ontario will make the entire new network profitable and worth sustaining after subsidy ends.
These flights, together with other services, are maintained throughout the remainder of the year and in 1998.
Early in 1999, a new subsidiary, Trillium Air, Ltd. is established and outfitted with a British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31. The new enterprise launches a daily schedule in June linking Kitchener-Waterloo Regional Airport with Ottawa.
The new enterprise launches a daily schedule on June 21 linking Kitchener-Waterloo Regional Airport with Ottawa.
Pem Air frequencies are maintained in 2000. Airline employment stands at 43 and the fleet now includes 2 each Jetstream 31s, Piper Navajo Chieftains, and Cessna 172s and 1 each Beech King Air 100, King Air 90, and Cessna 150.
A new subsidiary, Trillium Air, Ltd., is established in June and initiates daily Jetstream 31 roundtrips connecting Kitchener-Waterloo International Airport with Ottawa.
PENA TRANSPORTES AEREOS, S. A. (PENTA): Placa Eduardo Gomes s/n, Santarem, Paras, 68025-710, Brazil; Phone 91-522-6719; Fax 91-522-6025; Year Founded 1994. Pena Taxi Aereo, Ltd. is established in 1994 to offer nonscheduled passenger and cargo services throughout the country. Operations commence with 2 Embraer EMB-110 Ban-deirantes, 1 of which is leased from Brazil Central (Linha Aerea Regional, S. A.), and 2 Cessna 208s, both chartered from the same airline.
Operations continue apace in 1995-1996. The fleet is increased with another Brazil Central Caravan I, a McDonnell-Douglas MD-500N helicopter, and a Neiva (PA-31T) NE-821.
The company is reorganized and renamed in 1997. Founder Cesar Pena Fernandes remains president. In December, two de Havilland Canada DHC-8-314s are chartered from SA Express (Pty.), Ltd.
Flights continue in 1998-2000.
World History
