PT SEMPATI AIR is a new Indonesian air transportation scheduled operator. It is the first private airline company to use jet aircrafts. In utilizing jet aircraft, PT SEMPATI AIR flies trunk routes with the aim of providing service to the airline passengers in the executive market niche.



After six months operating jets on trunk routes, PT SEMPATI AIR has not achieved the load factor it had projected for its jet aircraft. Revenue from jet aircraft is a very important aspect in securing the loan payment for its jet aircraft. There- fore, it is important that the jet fleet reaches the projected load factor.



The term "load factor" is defined as the percentage of passenger kilometers to all available seat-kilometers. Hence, a high load factor is essential for profitable operations. For an air- line company, taking flight schedules and number of aircraft as fixed, variable costs are essentially zero, an increased load factor directly translated into increased revenues, and ultimately, for each rupiah of revenue equals an additional rupiah of profit and cash flow. By knowing what factors passengers consider to be important in their decisions to choose a particular airline, it will be easier to direct PT SEMPATI AIR's activities to improve load factor of its FOKKER F-1OO jet fleet.



To find the determining factors in the passenger's ticket purchase decision, a survey has been conducted among domestic airline passengers at terminals Band C, SUKARNO-HATTA International Airport and among travel agents. The purpose of these surveys was to find the important factors that influence passengers in deciding the airline to take and to rank each airline's performance in relationship to these factors. In addition, travel agents have been questioned on how PT SEMPATI AIR could improve its position in the airline industry. The survey revealed that there are fourteen factors that are considered important by the passengers.



These determinant factors are useful as one input to guide the marketing program of an airline company. It also useful for airline company in setting up its strategic plan and operations for competing in the airline industry. By analyzing the survey responses, recommendations on how SEMPATI AIR could act to improve the FOKKER F-1OO load factor have been given.



In general, PT SEMPATI AIR's relative position among its competitors is quite good. Although it is a relative new comer, in certain service areas it has already outraced the other airline companies. However, for certain services areas PT SEMPATI AIR could exercise some improvements. Providing a computerized reservation system to travel agents and scheduling flights to business passengers' needs would be some of the actions that would improve the FOKKER F-IOO load factor.



Research location: PT Sempati Air

Supervisor: Dobald Lecraw

Accepted: August 1991