Merpati adds Bengkulu flight

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned carrier Merpati Nusantara Airlines has announced that it is adding another flight to its Jakarta- Bengkulu route beginning on Saturday.

The airline previously serviced the route four times a week.

Merpati district manager Teddy Siswedi said the Saturday flight departs at 7:05 p.m. from Padang Kemiling Airport in Bengkulu.

Other flights from Bengkulu to the capital depart at 3:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, Teddy was quoted by Antara as saying.

The Jakarta-Bengkulu route is the only route that Merpati continues to operate from the province, after the ailing airline quit flying its Palembang (South Sumatra)-Bengkulu route on June 16.

The airline said its load factor on the route's flights averaged between 80 percent and 85 percent. (das)