Airlines support stricter safety regulations<\/p>\n
Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Airliners in the country say they are ready for a possible
\ntightening of the industry's safety regulations following the
\ncrash of a Mandala Air Boeing-737, which killed 150 people in
\nMedan last week.<\/p>\n
Many carriers talked by to The Jakarta Post pledged to upgrade
\naging aircraft and continue to adhere to strict international
\nsafety standards.<\/p>\n
"Safety and maintenance have always been our No. 1 priority,"
\npresident director of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia,
\nEmirsyah Satar, said last week.<\/p>\n
"The main thing is that we keep our discipline following our
\nmaintenance procedures."<\/p>\n
Emirsyah said Garuda aircraft regularly underwent audits from
\nthe U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and by similar agencies
\nin from Japan and Korea.<\/p>\n
The PT Mandala Airlines tragedy -- the country's worst airline
\naccident in eight years -- has prompted the Ministry of
\nTransportation to revise an industry safety regulation, requiring
\nairlines to limit their aircraft operations to a maximum of 30
\nyears and 50,000 flight hours and increase random spot-checks of
\nplanes and passenger manifests.<\/p>\n
The modified regulation, which was issued in June and will
\ncome into effect in December, had previously set the limit at 35
\nyears and 70,000 flight hours.<\/p>\n
Since the liberalization of the country's airline industry
\nseveral years ago, many airlines -- particularly budget carriers
\n-- have opted to lease used planes for their fleets to keep up
\nwith fierce competition in the industry. Some observers fear that
\naging aircraft, and scrimping on safety, coupled with poor
\nenforcement of airline security regulations could lead to
\ncrashes.<\/p>\n
Mandala's ill-fated Boeing 737-200 was 24 years old, however,
\nthe National Transportation Safety Committee is still
\ninvestigating the exact cause of the accident.<\/p>\n
Emirsyah said that next year Garuda planned to replace five
\nBoeing 737-300 aircraft it was currently leasing, with three of
\nthe manufacturer's newer 737-800 series.<\/p>\n
Garuda currently operates a total of 57 planes, the oldest
\nbeing 15 years of age. Aircraft maintenance accounts for some 20
\npercent of Garuda's Rp 10 trillion (US$979 million) annual
\noperational costs.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines corporate secretary
\nJaka Pujiyono told the Post Merpati also planned to upgrade 11
\nBoeing 737-200 aircraft in its 36-strong fleet.<\/p>\n
Merpati had long scheduled the upgrade in its business plans
\nand it had nothing to do with the government's moves following
\nthe accident, he said.<\/p>\n
"The planes can actually (by law) be operated until 2010. We
\nwill replace them because the newer planes would be more fuel-
\nefficient," he said, mentioning the recent surge in oil prices,
\nwhich have been hitting many airlines in the pocket.<\/p>\n
Low-cost carriers assured the Post safety was their priority,
\nwith an official of a popular budget airliner mentioning how all
\nthe 36 aircraft his company operates were relatively new -- of
\npost-1989 production -- and properly maintained.<\/p>\n
The official, who requested anonymity, strenuously denied
\nnotions that budget carriers were sacrificing flight safety and
\naircraft maintenance to keep their operational costs down. It was
\nimpossible for airlines not to put fuel, aircraft maintenance and
\nhiring certified pilots above all else, as this was specified by
\nthe industry's worldwide business practices.<\/p>\n
"They amount to about half of an airliner's costs and they are
\nfixed costs which are nearly impossible to tinker with," he said.<\/p>\n
"We keep our costs down by reducing the other half of our
\ncosts -- the so-called commercial factor -- such as promotion and
\nexpensive ticket registration systems."<\/p>",
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