History

After years & decades of accumulating experience from employment in global aviation companies and the military, our team members have now formed their own company. We are absolutely focused on providing the best services to ensure buyers and users of aircraft to maximise their investment and minimise their concerns - no matter what type of aviation endeavour is at hand.

If you are a successful businessman, private user or corporation wanting to get excellent advice from aviation experts who have seen all the manufacturers’ tricks and know which subtle but key factors make the difference between success & failure in aviation, we hope you will give us the opportunity to provide you with guidance before you commit your precious time & resources.

Our Team

Steve Lakeway

CO-FOUNDEr & Managing DIRECTOR

As his family’s 3rd generation military, airline & commercial pilot and gaining early exposure to his pioneering uncle’s startup “Pilgrim Airlines” NYC-hubbed commuter airline in the 60’s & 70’s, Steve started with family flying and then as a fixed & rotary-wing pilot in the US Navy. This culminated with the honor of flying “Marine One” helicopters for then-president George H.W. Bush & retiring with the rank of Commander. With experience as a factory production test pilot he made a career shift to aircraft sales for Sikorsky and was appointed in charge of sales to the Japanese military with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as strategic partner. In a few years his sales territory expanded to SE Asia which resulted in military aircraft sales to the Malaysian Air Force, Thai Navy, Brunei Air Force & eventually the Singapore Air Force. A number of these sales included Head-of-State VIP aircraft including to His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei, Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia & the ex-King of Malaysia, Sultan Iskandar. This period of his sales and concurrent civil sales to a variety of customers ended with the Asian Financial Crisis in 1999. After being hired to help Indonesian air charter startup Travira Air at the end of 1999, he helped it grow significantly in size & reputation including introducing amphibian operations for the first time since WWII with a breakthrough contract with Newmont Mining. He introduced charter contracts to support foreign oil & gas operations including ConocoPhilipsm BP & ExxonMobil until 2004 when he left Travira Air and started Blue Water Air in Phuket Thailand. This company introduced amphibian air service to the outlying island resorts. Despite BWA’s success, the traumatic tsunami decimated tourism so Steve joined regional master dealer Hawker-Pacific in 2005 as sales director for Singapore, India, Philippines & Thailand selling Beechcraft & Hawker aircraft. Missing his operational roots, Steve was hired by startup MJets in Bangkok as its general manager then joining Pacific Jet as the authorised sales agent of AgustaWestland (now Leonardo) helicopters & Cessna Aircraft. In 2012, he was hired by Airbus as Sales Director for Indonesia until 2020. His next major corporate position was in 2021 as Country Director for Boeing, responsible for all civil & military activities in a dynamic and challenging market. In parallel with his Boeing duties and with full disclosure to Boeing, Steve founded and led IFS and another breakthrough pioneering aviation startup, PT Solusi Pariwisata Inovatif, (SPI - aka Paradise Air) which has since received an exclusive 35-year permit for Bali-Rinjani volcano national park eco-air tourism flights which he now leads to commence operation as he supports numerous startups in SE Asia.

DIRECTOR - CUSTOMER RelationS

Putri Devianita

Coming from a respected civil servant family, Putri’s career has focused on client relations including international basing with global companies. With her recent years being deeply involved with international hospitality, Putri’s familiarity with private air travel and tourism has naturally made her of great value to IFS. In addition to her IFS duties, Putri is dedicated to the successful launch of IFS’s partner company “Innovative Tourism Solutions” (abbreviated as SPI in Bahasa Indonesia). With this breakthrough and Regional one-of-a-kind aviation project launching in Indonesia in Q1 2025, her skill set is ideal to maximize the project’s successful start. A professional with excellent focus, diligence and commitment to customer satisfaction. Putri’s attention to detail makes her a very effective government and client relations proponent for IFS as well as SPI. Her bachelor’s degree from the University of Indonesia, track record with high visibility clients and excellent soft skills are key to the companies’ success for the long term as their activities expand. Putri can be reached at: +62 852-1525-2211and email; putri@ifsaero.com

TECHNICAL MANAGER

Markus Hierdstod

Markus hails from Canada and has a deep knowledge of Organisational, Intermediate & Overhaul maintenance. His operational experience started with bush flying in remote provinces and has served as the lead engineer in North America, Australia & Asia. His reputation gained him the opportunity to be appointed as the ASEAN regional technical director for a major aircraft manufacturer - based in Singapore & responsible for everything from piston to turboprop and business jets. His responsibilities were expanded to nearly the entire Asian region for another major MNC maintenance company responsible for both hands-on maintenance and providing engine business throughput to the company’s major North American-based overhaul facility. Known as extremely customer-focused, Markus has the reputation of making seemingly impossible jobs almost routine and providing business owners and management with extremely high levels of satisfaction.

SENIOR OPERATIONS MANAGER

Sumadi Hussein

Sumadi left Indonesia to start his aviation career training in California USA. Expert in operations & maintenance, he has worked with some of Indonesia’s most respected air charter companies and frequently provides technical briefings at high-profile aviation conferences. His network of resources and people in Indonesian aviation is unmatched as is his passion for the industry.

Multi-year Singapore-based Air Ambulance service for International SOS