Pelita Air is a scheduled airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is owned by oil and gas company Pertamina, a subsidiary of Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund, Danantara. Its main operating base is Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, and it is headquartered at Pondok Cabe Airport. Pelita Air is listed in category 1 by Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority for airline safety quality.
History
Early years (1963–1970)
The airline started its history in 1963 when Pertamina established an air transportation service division named Pertamina Air Service to support employee mobility. On 24 January 1970, the division was officially separated into a separate company under the name "PT Pelita Air Service". The company also provides air transportation services for the oil and gas industry in Indonesia on a rental system.
New ventures (1987–2020)
On 24 November 1987, the company established PT Indopelita Aircraft Services (IAS) to provide maintenance services for rotating components, such as turbines, compressors and pumps, as well as general and field mechanical services. IAS also offers a digital control system to monitor equipment performance.
thumb|A Pelita Air [[Fokker F28 Fellowship in the late 1980s]]
In 2000, the company provided scheduled flight services under the name "Pelita AirVenture". It ceased scheduled flights in 2005, citing tough competition in the scheduled aviation sector. In 2016, the company formed an Airport Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in charge of managing Pertamina's airports. In 2019, SBU Airport started managing three airports owned by Pertamina, namely Pondok Cabe Airport, Pinang Kampai Airport, and Warukin Airport. In 2020, the company started to provide general cargo transportation services.
Relaunch as a scheduled airline (2021–present)
In late 2021, Indonesian media reported that the Indonesian Ministry of State-owned Enterprises (BUMN) had plans to have Pelita Air replace the financially-ailing flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, citing the latter's high debt. In November 2021, the ministry's plan for the airline to start scheduled flights was followed by an aircraft lease order for several Airbus A320 aircraft, during which time the airline had applied for an air operator's certificate (AOC).
On 28 April 2022, the airline launched operations as a scheduled carrier with a flight from Jakarta to Denpasar. The regular flights to Bali were later followed by flights to Yogyakarta on 20 June 2022, with more routes from Jakarta planned. Upon the launch of regular services, the Minister of State Owned Enterprises, Erick Thohir, stated that Pelita Air would be solely focusing on the domestic market as opposed to flying international routes, referring to the size of the domestic Indonesian aviation market. However, later in 2022, reports emerged of plans for the airline to start Hajj operations to Saudi Arabia in 2023. On 18 August 2025, the airline commenced its first cross border flights to Singapore, effectively ending its status as a domestic-only airline.
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|Balikpapan||Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan Airport|| align="center" | || align="center" |
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|Banda Aceh||Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Banjarmasin||Syamsudin Noor Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Denpasar||Ngurah Rai International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Kendari||Haluoleo Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Jakarta||Soekarno–Hatta International Airport||||align=center|
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|Jayapura||Sentani International Airport||||align=center|
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|Mataram||Lombok International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Makassar||Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Medan||Kualanamu International Airport||||align=center|
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|Palembang||Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Pekanbaru||Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Padang||Minangkabau International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|]
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|Pontianak||Supadio International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Sorong||Domine Eduard Osok Airport ||||align=center|
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|Surabaya||Juanda International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Yogyakarta||Yogyakarta International Airport||align=center| ||align=center|
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|Singapore
|Singapore
|Changi Airport|| align="center" | || align="center" |
|}
Fleet
Current fleet
thumb|A Pelita Air [[Airbus A320 family|Airbus A320-200 on final approach to Soekarno–Hatta International Airport]]
thumb|Pelita Air [[British Aerospace 146|BAe Avro RJ85 during landing at Nusantara International Airport]]
, Pelita Air operates the following aircraft:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+Pelita Air fleet
! rowspan="2" |Aircraft
! rowspan="2" |In service
! rowspan="2" |Orders
! colspan="3" |Passengers
! rowspan="2" |Notes
|-
!W
!Y
!Total
|-
| rowspan="2" align="center" |
| rowspan="2" align="center" |14
| rowspan="2" align="center" |51
| align="center" |—
|180
|180
| align="center" |
|-
|12
|138
|150
| align="center" |Former Alaska Airlines aircraft.
|-
| align="center" |
| align="center" |1
|-
| align="center" |
| align="center" |1
| align="center" |2
| align="center" |—
| align="center" |—
| align="center" |—
|13
| align="center" |Charter
|-
| align="center" |
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Pelita Air historical fleet
|-
!Aircraft
!Total
!Passengers
!Notes
|-
|Aérospatiale SA321J Super Frelon
| align="center" |1
| align="center" |27
|Registered as PK-PEF
|-
|Aérospatiale SA300J Puma
| align="center" |1
| align="center" |16
|Registered as PK-PEN
|-
|Aérospatiale SA330F
| align="center" |1
| align="center" |-
|The only BAe 146-200 in the fleet
|-
|Bell 212
| align="center" |1
| align="center" |15
|The only Bell 212, registered as PK-PDZ
|-
|Boeing 707-3M1C
| align="center" |1
| align="center" |VVIP
|Registered as PK-PJQ, was used by Sempati Air in Aug 1977, transferred to the Indonesian Government in July 1979, and then to the Indonesian Air Force as A-7002 in Nov. 1982. After a lease back to Pelita in 1985, the aircraft was leased to Garuda Indonesia in 1989 as PK-GAU.
|-
|CASA C-212 Aviocar
| align="center" |6
| align="center" | —
|F100s were used for passenger flights; all of the F100s are (presumably) scrapped.
|-
|Fokker 70
| align="center" |1
| align="center" | —
|The only Fokker 70 in the fleet
|-
|Fokker 50
|-
|Fokker 28-1000 and one was registered as PK-CFD (operated by PT. Caltex Pacific Indonesia).
|-
|Grumman G-111 Albatross
| align="center" |3
| align="center" | —
|Only 3 G-111s were in the fleet. PK-VAA crashed landed near Seletar. (Registration PK-PAM that was formerly used for one of the G-111 was re-used for the ATR 72-500.)
|-
|Gulfstream II
| align="center" |2
| align="center" | —
|Both registered as PK-PJG & PK-PJZ
|-
|Gulfstream III
| align="center" |1
| align="center" | —
|Only 1 aircraft in the fleet, registered as PK-PJA
|-
|Hawker Siddeley 125-600B
| align="center" |5
| align="center" | Cargo
|L-100s used for transmigration and cargo services. One crashed in Hong Kong as PK-PLV, one crash landed in Jayapura as PK-PLU, and one with an unidentified registration overran in South Sudan.
|-
|NAMC YS-11
| align="center" |2
| align="center" | 64
|One of the few NAMC YS-11 operators in Indonesia, both aircraft being registered as PK-PYV & PK-PYW
|-
|Shorts S.7 Skyvan 3
| align="center" |3
| align="center" |19
|Only 3 in the fleet, registered as PK-PSC, PK-PSF, and PK-PSG
|-
|Transall C-160NG
- On 24 January 1984, A Pelita Air CASA C-212 Aviocar (registration PK-PCL) crashed in Mount Lokon while descending out of 3000 feet, near Manado, North Sulawesi. 6 of the 9 occupants died and the aircraft was written off.
- On 2 January 1990, while on the way to Palembang, a CASA 212 operated by Pelita Air (registration PK-PCM) experienced an engine trouble. The aircraft ditched and sank into Java sea. 7 people were killed.
- On 6 December 2023, Pelita Air Flight 205, an Airbus A320-200 (registration PK-PWD), which was to fly from Surabaya to Jakarta, canceled its takeoff due to a bomb threat at Juanda International Airport, Surabaya. All passengers were asked to disembark, and one person was secured by officers.
- On 19 February 2026, Pelita Air Flight 7101, an Air Tractor AT-802 (registration PK-PAA), crashed at Krayan Hills in Nunukan, North Kalimantan. 1 out of 1 occupant were killed.