BAE Systems Regional Aircraft has leased two BAe 146-200 jetliners to recently-established Indonesian airline PT Linus Airways. The aircraft are the first airline passenger versions of the BAe 146 family to operate in Indonesia, and BAE Systems is looking to win further lease deals at Asian Aerospace.

Linus, which is short for Lintasan Nusantara (bridge across the archipelago), wants to position itself between the existing Indonesian legacy carriers and the newly formed low-cost airlines.

Founder and CEO Julius Indra says “We are planning to offer services to eastern Indonesia which will make a major contribution to the economic development of that area. We look forward to commencing services soon with the BAe 146, which we have selected as the ideal aircraft to serve our routes.”

Linus’ planned network is predominantly spread across the less dense, less competitive eastern half of the Indonesian archipelago. All flights will originate from Jakarta and other hubs to destinations that will include Medan, Palembang, Pekan Baru, Batam, Semarang and Tanjug Padan.

Linus has positioned itself as a lower-cost service carrier and each aircraft will be equipped with 98 leather seats in a one-class configuration. Linus has contracted with PT Indo Pelita Air Service, an Indonesia DGCA-approved MRO organisation for its maintenance requirements.

Two executive versions of the BAe 146 family are also operating in the country. A VIP Avro RJ85 is operated by Pelita Air Service for the President’s Fleet, and Metro TV/Eagle Aviation operates a corporate BAe 146-100.

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Source: Flight Daily News

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