Cessna Grand Caravan EX Amphibian Charter Indonesia
A Cessna 208B EX Grand Caravan Amphibian charter in Indonesia means booking a single-engine turboprop fitted with floats that can land on both a runway and open water. As of September 2026 no operator sells seats on a public timetable — Santai Seaplane (North Bali/Banyuwangi) and Sama Sama Seaplanes (West Sumatra) are building toward commercial service, and charters are arranged on enquiry through a licensed AOC holder.
What Is the Cessna Grand Caravan EX Amphibian?
The Grand Caravan EX is Textron Aviation’s upgraded 208B Caravan, fitted with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140 turboprop. On amphibious floats, the airframe keeps its wheeled landing gear inside the float hulls, so the same aircraft can touch down on a sealed runway or retract the gear and land on a lake, bay or sheltered coastline. That dual capability is the reason operators in Indonesia have picked this type over a conventional land-only Caravan for island and coastal routes.
Two Indonesian start-ups are building their fleets around this exact airframe. Smart Aviation reported four Grand Caravan EX aircraft ordered for the Indonesian market with deliveries beginning in 2026, and both Santai Seaplane and Sama Sama Seaplanes have named the type as their launch aircraft rather than the larger DHC-6 Twin Otter.
Which Operators Fly the Grand Caravan EX in Indonesia?
| Operator | Planned base(s) | Aircraft | Status as of 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santai Seaplane (PT Santai Seaplane Aviation, part of Seaplane Asia Group) | Letkol Wisnu Airport, Buleleng, North Bali; Banyuwangi, East Java (BOT hub with InJourney Airports and Akademi Penerbang Indonesia Banyuwangi) | Cessna 208B EX Grand Caravan Amphibian | Demonstration flight and water landing completed; commercial operations targeted for 2026 |
| Sama Sama Seaplanes | West Sumatra, water base registration with DJPU in progress | Cessna 208B EX Grand Caravan Amphibian, flown as a virtual carrier under Premiair’s AOC | Planned launch pushed back from its original 1Q 2023 target; routes proposed to Mentawai, later Lombok, Komodo and Raja Ampat |
Neither operator holds its own scheduled route network yet. Santai Seaplane’s intended network links East Java to North Bali, Lombok and Moyo Island, plus charter links to Surabaya. Sama Sama’s plan starts with Mentawai and expands toward Lombok, Komodo and Raja Ampat as certification and base registration progress. Juara Holding Group is not affiliated with either company; a charter enquiry through the desk gets matched to whichever licensed AOC holder is flying the type at the time of the request.
What Are the Grand Caravan EX’s Published Specifications?
Textron Aviation publishes the base Grand Caravan EX’s performance figures for the wheeled configuration on its own manufacturer site, built around the PT6A-140 engine. Once an amphibious float kit is fitted, cruise speed, useful load and range all shift downward from those wheeled-configuration numbers — the floats add weight and drag — and no Indonesian operator has published amphibious-specific figures for its own aircraft as of 2026. Rather than mix a manufacturer’s land-plane numbers with an unverified Indonesian float conversion, this page leaves exact speed, range and payload figures for you to confirm directly with the operator at quote stage; ask for the amphibious weight-and-balance sheet for your specific route and passenger count.
What is consistent across operators: a single PT6A-series turboprop, a high-wing cabin that loads through a rear airstair or cargo door, and a standard cabin that seats fewer passengers than the wheeled version once float-related weight and balance are accounted for.
When Does a Caravan EX Charter Make Sense vs a Twin Otter?
| Use case | Caravan EX amphibian | DHC-6 Twin Otter floatplane |
|---|---|---|
| Small group resort or private-island transfer | Good fit — single-engine turboprop, lower operating cost per rotation for a small party | Better for larger groups; Twin Otter cabins carry more seats |
| Dive or surf charter to a remote break or reef | Good fit for groups of a handful of people plus gear | Preferred when the group or gear load exceeds Caravan EX capacity |
| Aerial filming or survey work | Suitable — single engine keeps sortie costs down for short repositioning legs | Used when a production needs a larger, more stable camera platform |
| Mining or remote-crew rotation | Workable for small crew rotations to a strip near open water | The Bawah Reserve model — guests connect via Batam on two Twin Otter Series 300 seaplanes — shows the Twin Otter suits sustained resort-shuttle operations |
| Route needing both a certified runway and open water on the same leg | This is the Caravan EX’s core advantage — amphibious gear covers both | Twin Otters on Wipline 8000 amphibious floats, as named in Kemenhub’s Trans Utama magazine (edition 03-2022) for Lake Toba, Pulau Gili Iyang and Pulau Senua, do the same job at higher capacity |
Ask your operator which airframe they’re actually rostering for your date — fleet size in Indonesia is still small enough that aircraft availability, not preference, often decides the answer.
Why Does Amphibious Landing Gear Matter for Indonesia’s Network?
Indonesia’s aviation map is not built for one aircraft type. Some of the country’s most valuable destinations — a lagoon resort, a national park anchorage, a lake with no paved strip — have no certified runway at all, while others only have a runway and no adjacent certified water aerodrome. An amphibious Caravan EX removes the need to choose: the same tail number can depart from Letkol Wisnu Airport’s sealed runway and land on open water at the other end, or vice versa, without a passenger transfer to a boat or a second aircraft.
This is also why DJPU (Direktorat Jenderal Perhubungan Udara, Indonesia’s DGCA) treats a demonstration flight and water landing — completed by Seaplane Asia Group — as a prerequisite for certifying any new water aerodrome, and why the Directorate of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operations (DKPPU) has to separately clear the aircraft type before any commercial seat is sold on it.
How Is a Caravan EX Charter Priced?
No operator publishes a public route-level fare for the Grand Caravan EX amphibian in Indonesia, and this page will not invent one. Quotes are built on enquiry from these components:
- Minimum block hours — most turboprop charter operators quote a minimum flight-hour block rather than a one-way fare, even for a short hop.
- Positioning legs — if the aircraft is based at Letkol Wisnu or Banyuwangi and your departure point is elsewhere, you typically pay for the aircraft to reposition empty.
- Fuel surcharge — turboprop charter rates commonly move with Jet A fuel pricing at the time of flight.
- Landing and water-use fees — a certified water aerodrome or an airport landing fee applies on top of the flight-hour rate.
- Seasonality — demand around dive season, surf season and the December–January holiday period can affect aircraft availability more than it affects the quoted rate itself.
How Booking Works
- Send your route, date and party size via WhatsApp to the Juara Holding Group concierge desk.
- The desk checks which licensed AOC holder has a Grand Caravan EX (or a suitable alternative) available for your window — Santai Seaplane’s and Sama Sama Seaplanes’ networks are both still building out, so availability varies month to month.
- You receive a written quote covering block-hour rate, positioning legs, and any landing or water-use fees, direct from the operator.
- You confirm and pay the operator directly — Juara Holding Group arranges the introduction and coordination; it does not operate the aircraft or hold the funds.
- Flight day — the concierge desk stays reachable for schedule changes or weather holds, which are common for water operations.
Ready to check Grand Caravan EX availability for your route and date? WhatsApp the Juara Holding Group concierge desk at (https://wa.me/6281139414563) or email bd@juaraholding.com with “match me with a Caravan EX operator for [route/date].” Juara Holding Group is an independent coordination desk, established 2015, that arranges charters through licensed AOC holders — it is not an aircraft operator and has no affiliation with Santai Seaplane or Sama Sama Seaplanes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Cessna Grand Caravan EX amphibian charter cost in Indonesia?
No public source lists a route-level fare as of 2026 — operators quote on enquiry. Rates are built from a minimum block-hour charge, any positioning legs to reach your departure point, fuel surcharge, and landing or water-use fees. Send your route and date to the concierge desk for a written quote from the operator flying that window.
How many passengers can a Grand Caravan EX amphibian carry?
Amphibious float kits reduce the standard wheeled Caravan EX’s seating once weight and balance is recalculated, and no Indonesian operator has published its own amphibious cabin configuration as of 2026. Confirm exact seat count and baggage allowance with the operator’s weight-and-balance sheet for your specific party size before booking.
Which airports and water sites can a Caravan EX amphibian use in Indonesia?
Confirmed hubs include Letkol Wisnu Airport in North Bali and Banyuwangi in East Java, both tied to Santai Seaplane. Kemenhub’s Trans Utama magazine (03-2022) names Lake Toba, Pulau Gili Iyang and Pulau Senua as planned water aerodromes for Twin Otter floats. No complete national registry of certified Caravan EX water sites is public yet.
Is Santai Seaplane or Sama Sama Seaplanes already flying scheduled Caravan EX routes?
Not on a public timetable as of September 2026. Santai Seaplane has completed a demonstration flight and water landing with commercial operations targeted for 2026; Sama Sama Seaplanes is registering a water base with DJPU in West Sumatra after its original 1Q 2023 launch date passed. Both currently operate on a charter-and-preparation basis, not scheduled service.
What’s the difference between chartering a Caravan EX and a Twin Otter floatplane?
The Grand Caravan EX is a single-engine turboprop suited to smaller groups, short repositioning legs and mixed runway/water routes. The DHC-6 Twin Otter, used at Bawah Reserve on Wipline 8000 amphibious floats and planned for several Kemenhub-named water aerodromes, carries more passengers and suits sustained resort-shuttle or larger-group operations. Ask your operator which airframe is actually rostered for your date.