Merpati Airlines service

As a frequent Merpati flyer to Bandar Lampung, I fully agree with Vatsala S. that Merpati's ground staff deserve praise and compliments ("Kudos to Merpati", The Jakarta Post dated April 6).

As far as Merpati Airlines itself is concerned, however, my experiences with them over the years more often than not have been exercises in sheer frustration.

To start with, shuttle flights to and from Jakarta are rarely on time, and both flight schedules and frequencies are changed more often than I care to remember.

For whatever reason, Merpati is the only airline that serves the Jakarta - Bandar Lampung route, and it is not surprising that its twice-daily flights are invariably fully booked.

Although I have yet to receive any information regarding my "easy flyer" points accumulated over the years, I would nevertheless appreciate it if Merpati would at least stop addressing its long suffering passengers as "Dear Customers", or Pelanggan yang terhormat.

JOSEPH LOUIS SPARTZ, Jakarta