Merpati to fly between Melbourn and Denpasar<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): State-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines will link
\nMelbourne and Denpasar, Bali, starting today.<\/p>\n
Company spokesperson A. Tondo Widodo said yesterday that
\nMerpati, a subsidiary of the national flag carrier Garuda
\nIndonesia, would fly an Airbus A-310-300 aircraft between
\nDenpasar and Melbourne four times a week.<\/p>\n
She said the airplane had been serving Melbourne directly from
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
\"The Jakarta-Denpasar-Melbourne flight is every Wednesday and
\nFriday. The Melbourne-Denpasar-Jakarta (flight) is every Thursday
\nand Saturday. Meanwhile, the Jakarta-Melbourne-Jakarta direct
\nflights are every Monday and Tuesday,\" Tondo said.<\/p>\n
Merpati competes with its sister company, Garuda, and several
\noverseas airlines to serve Australia. Other airlines linking
\nIndonesia and Australia include Qantas (Jakarta-Sydney and
\nJakarta-Perth), Garuda (from Jakarta to Brisbane, Cairns, Perth,
\nMelbourne, Sydney and Darwin), Sempati Air (Jakarta-Perth) and
\nAnsett (Jakarta-Sydney, Denpasar-Perth and Denpasar-Darwin).<\/p>\n
Merpati has changed its A-310 jet's seat configuration from
\nits original capacity of 220 seats to only 186 seats to provide
\npassengers more comfort.<\/p>\n
Merpati's manager in Bali, Hartono Soerono, predicted that the
\nload factors for the Denpasar-Melbourne and vice versa services
\nwould reach 70 percent in the first year. \"The figure is
\nestimated to reach 90 percent and 100 percent in the second and
\nthird operation years.\"<\/p>\n
He said that Merpati originally planned to start linking
\nJakarta and Melbourne via Denpasar last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\"But the plane from Jakarta was loaded with all passengers
\ndesignated for Melbourne, so the plane flew directly from Jakarta
\nto Melbourne,\" Antara news agency quoted Hartono as
\nsaying.<\/p>\n
He said the company would launch a series of promotions to
\nattract more passengers,<\/p>\n
Merpati has launched several international services as part of
\nits campaign to bolster its image.<\/p>\n
The government has approved Merpati's program to increase its
\noverseas services, although it is known as a carrier which serves
\nmostly domestic feeder routes and it does not have much money.<\/p>\n
The airline's development mission, assigned by the government,
\nhas inhibited the airline because it limits the airline to
\nserving pioneering, uncommercial routes in remote areas.<\/p>\n
Tondo said that Merpati was planning new routes including a
\nJakarta-Singapore route which it would introduce on Jan. 29. This
\nservice would use an A-300-600 aircraft.<\/p>\n
Company president Budiarto Subroto said recently that Merpati
\nalso planned to serve Jakarta-Hong Kong, Jakarta-Seoul, Denpasar-
\nBangkok and another service to Nagoya or Hiroshima in Japan later
\nthis year.<\/p>\n
Besides its service to Australian cities, Merpati also links
\nBandung in West Java and Singapore seven times a week and Jakarta
\nand Kuala Lumpur seven times a week. (icn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/merpati-to-fly-between-melbourn-and-denpasar-1447893297",
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