Susi Air was founded in late 2004 by Susi Pudjiastuti and Christian von Strombeck to service the local fishing communities of Western Indonesia and enable them to quickly supply lobsters and fresh fish to many markets in Asia. 2 Cessna Caravan were ordered and delivered in late 2004 from the factory to Indonesia.

Shortly after the first aircraft arrived, the tsunami of Boxing Day 2004 hit Sumatra and Susi Air became crucial in the transport of life saving medicine and equipment to the victims. Christian became the first pilot to land an airplane both in Simeulue and Meulaboh just days after the Tsunami, and Susi Air opened a vital air bridge to these isolated communities. Soon, aid agencies from around the world found Susi Air to be safe and reliable with their team of international pilots and staff and some continue to contract with them throughout Sumatra and Aceh. Susi Air is also fundamental in the clean up effort after the huge earthquake in March 2005 that spread destruction on the remote island of Nias.

In mid-2005 Susi Air added a third Cessna Caravan to the fleet which enabled more charter work, and later the start to scheduled services in Medan. In late 2006 this aircraft was moved to Jayapura to open a Susi Air branch in this challenging flight environment. Through continuous hard work Susi Air was able to add two more aircraft – one more Cessna Caravan and one DA42 Twin Star – in early 2007.

The last months of 2007 and early 2008 were a time of exciting growth for Susi Air. Between October and December 2007 a total of 6 aircraft were added (4 Cessna Caravan and 2 Pilatus Porter), and another 2 Cessna Gran Caravan were delivered until September 2008. We opened a base in Balikpapan in May 2008 and expanded our operation in Kalimantan in the meantime. Therefore half of the total flight time since launching Susi Air was flown in 2008 and we have achieved twice the flying hours of 2007 ! This has allowed Susi Air to continue expanding scheduled and charter services and finally also return to the first intended work – the support of fisheries operations throughout Indonesia.

Besides being active in aviation and fisheries, Susi is also working actively for social and environmental activities; she regularly uses her aircraft to deliver medicine and other urgently needed supplies to remote villages in Papua and gives directly to the people in need (see inset picure). She is also active in promoting the protection of the remaining tropical forest in Indonesia from logging and plantations.

Besides being active in aviation and fisheries, Susi is also working actively for social and environmental activities; she regularly uses her aircraft to deliver medicine and other urgently needed supplies to remote villages in Papua and gives directly to the people in need (see inset picure). She is also active in promoting the protection of the remaining tropical forest in Indonesia from logging and plantations.

Susi Air continues to grow and is interested to have contact with any organizations that have business in Indonesia and seek a reliable air service.