Garuda and Merpati

Not only did The Jakarta Post take more than two weeks to print my recent letter on the service, or rather non-existing service of Garuda/Merpati on domestic flights, but the contents were edited in such a way that, apart from grammatical mistakes, which were brought in, the meaning of what I really wanted to say also got lost in the process.

In my opinion, the obvious indifference of both Garuda and Merpati towards the needs or requirements of their paying customers will be a great obstacle for the further development of the tourism industry in Indonesia, which this beautiful country does not deserve. For people living here, this is nothing new, although that does not mean that we have to get used to it or even like it. Quite the opposite. For tourists who have to spend a lot of hard-earned money to come to Indonesia, sitting in airports during their vacation just because Garuda/Merpati don't care whether they transport their customers on schedule or not at all will, in all probability, have them decide on another vacation country next time, where one gets what one has paid for and where the airline fleet perhaps is better maintained and consists of newer planes than those of the national flag carrier.

ROLAND WOEHRLE

Kemang

South Jakarta