Farsighted approach sought

Farsighted approach sought

When the government decided to put (the state-run) Merpati
Nusantara Airlines under the wings of (the national carrier)
Garuda Indonesia, it thought the measure would produce an
integrated enterprise whose two elements would be mutually
complementing and which would be more effective and profitable.
The arrival of an era of greater competition among airlines,
however, proved that the step rather increased the difficulties
which both the airlines had to cope with.

To improve the position of both companies in this current era
of open competition, the government is now taking steps to
separate Merpati from Garuda once again. The plan came closer to
being realized when Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad on June
11th gave his formal approval to Merpati's separation from
Garuda.

We hope the step will produce a Garuda with a new appearance:
not as a big and overweight company that moves with difficulty,
but a lean and vigorous one. Indonesia belongs to the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations region, which in economic terms is
growing rapidly. Here we can watch how our neighbors are moving
quickly to anticipate the growth of the regional air services
market. We hope that in the future, both Garuda and Merpati will
be able to not just take a defensive position against the
onslaught of foreign and domestic airline companies, but also
better anticipate the growing market opportunities in this
region.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta