Batavia Air

Batavia Air was a Jakarta-based Indonesian carrier that began scheduled flights in 2002 and grew into a domestic network of around 40 destinations. It stopped flying on 31 January 2013 after a Jakarta court declared it bankrupt over an unpaid lease on two Airbus A330s.

How it started

Batavia Air was the trading name of PT Metro Batavia, and the name came from the colonial-era name for Jakarta. According to Wikipedia, the company obtained its aviation licence in 2000, ran trial operations in 2001 and began operating in 2002. Sources differ slightly on the start: Wikipedia's infobox gives 2002, while Wikidata gives 2001 as the start of its 2001–2013 lifespan, which probably reflects the trial phase.

It began as Metro Batavia with a Boeing 737-200 and a Fokker F28 wet-leased from Bali Air. Its first scheduled route ran from Jakarta to Pontianak, with other routes following.

The heyday

Batavia Air was based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, with Surabaya's Juanda airport as a secondary hub and Bali as a focus city. By the end it served roughly 42 domestic destinations, from Banda Aceh to Papua, plus a handful of regional international points, including Singapore, Malaysia and Timor-Leste, and Saudi Arabia.

It was rated category 1 by Indonesia's civil aviation authority. In June 2010 it was removed from the EU's list of banned carriers, alongside Indonesia AirAsia. Soon afterwards it changed its IATA code from 7P to Y6. Wikipedia notes that it had no fatal accidents in its eleven years, although it had several incidents. These included a runway overrun at Balikpapan in March 2012, where investigators cited the mixed use of new and old servo valves, against Airbus maintenance advice.

What went wrong

• Costly wide-bodies. In 2009 the airline leased two Airbus A330s from ILFC on a six-year dry lease running to 2015. The Jakarta Post reported that the aircraft were meant to carry Indonesian pilgrims during the annual haj season. An academic case study on Academia.edu says the airline lost several haj tenders, which hurt its finances.
• A failed rescue. On 26 July 2012 AirAsia and Batavia announced a planned US$80 million buy-out. It drew controversy because Indonesian law restricts foreign ownership of airlines, and it fell through by 11 October 2012. The two said they would pursue a looser alliance instead.
• The missed payment. TTG Asia, citing Antara, reported that Batavia failed to pay ILFC US$4.68 million on 13 December 2012 for the two A330s. ILFC petitioned the Central Jakarta Commercial Court for bankruptcy.

The last flight

The court granted the petition on 30 January 2013. Sales and flights had continued normally until the ruling. The Jakarta Post quoted the airline's lawyer saying management accepted the decision and would stop operating from 31 January. The Associated Press reported that flights stopped just after midnight, stranding hundreds of passengers. Antara described passengers at Soekarno-Hatta who had not been told their flights were cancelled and found the airline's counter closed. Wikipedia gives the time of closure as 12:00 local time on 31 January, whereas news reports say midnight. We have not found documentation of a specific final flight or route.

What happened next

The Transport Ministry activated a contingency plan for ticket holders and asked other airlines to help carry stranded passengers. Wikipedia says tickets bought before the closure were either refunded or moved to other airlines. Other carriers were expected to take over the route network. By February 2013, only Citilink, Mandala Airlines and Lion Air had acquired routes. The Central Jakarta court appointed four liquidators from local law firms. No airline continued the Batavia Air brand, and our sources do not say what happened to the staff or the remaining aircraft.

Sources: Wikipedia: Batavia Air, The Jakarta Post: Bankrupt Batavia to stop service, TTG Asia: Bankrupt Batavia Air ceases operation, Associated Press via Times Colonist, Antara News: Batavia Airlines declared bankrupt, Academia.edu: Batavia Air Bankruptcy Case