Govt to purchase three F-100 jets for Merpati
Govt to purchase three F-100 jets for Merpati
JAKARTA (JP): The government plans to pay for three Fokker F-
100 aircraft and 14 CN-235 simulators for Merpati Nusantara to
help improve the air carrier's financial structure.
Merpati spokesman Tondo Widodo said yesterday that if the plan
is realized, the company's ratio of debt against equity may reach
2:1, as compared to the current 7:1 ratio.
"The payment will be considered as the government's additional
equity participation in Merpati," he said, adding that the F-100
aircraft are worth US$32 million each.
Merpati, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the country's flag
carrier Garuda Indonesia, currently operates 84 aircraft of
various types, including F-100s, DC-9s, F-28s, F-27s, CN-235s,
ATPs, Casa-212s and Twin Otters. Out of its fleet, 17 F-28s and
14 CN-235s are government equity participation in the air
carrier.
Tondo refused to specify the amount of Merpati's total loans,
Antara news agency reported.
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said on
Wednesday that Merpati suffered losses in the last three years.
Merpati's losses reached Rp 39.79 billion ($1737 million) in 1993
and Rp 65.63 billion in 1994. Its losses are projected to reach
Rp 63.74 billion this year.
Garuda
When asked about the new domestic routes to be operated by
Garuda, Tondo said that they will not hamper Merpati's business.
"The market will be stable if Garuda serves the new routes
just two times per week, not two times per day," he said.
Garuda's commercial director, Kussuyono, said recently that
the government had granted his company four new domestic routes:
Jakarta-Semarang (Central Java), Jakarta-Pekanbaru (Riau),
Jakarta Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Jakarta-Ampenan (West
Nusa Tenggara).
Garuda will start serving the routes, previously designated to
Merpati, on Dec. 17.
Tondo said that Mandala, Merpati and Sempati Air currently
serve the Jakarta-Semarang route and Bouraq, Mandala and Merpati
the Jakarta-Pontianak route.
There are two air carriers -- Merpati and Sempati -- which
serve the Jakarta-Ampenan and the Jakarta-Pekanbaru routes, he
said.
Garuda, which reduced the number of its domestic routes
several years ago to concentrate on its overseas services, had
proposed to the government that it once again service some of the
lucrative domestic routes, as the airline is lagging behind in
international competition.
Garuda has been given until the end of this year to increase
the number of its domestic routes, or it will lose the license to
expand its domestic services if it fails to meet the deadline.
Under the license, issued earlier this year, Garuda is
permitted to expand its domestic services to cover 32 domestic
destinations. Garuda currently serves 15 domestic destinations
from Jakarta. (icn)