Merpati apologizes

First of all, we would like to apologize to Adrian Smith for any inconvenience during his flight on our Fokker 27 MZ 6600 on March 29, 2002, from Denpasar to Mataram. We thank him for his complaint which appeared in The Jakarta Post on April 10.

We carefully looked into the matter and checked the chronology of that flight, and we would like to clarify as follows:

* We have found that the cabin conditions of our Fokker 27 were not uncomfortable. However, we are aware of certain shortcomings in the aircraft's performance and we have already made plans for improvements. The measures taken will be implemented through our Merpati Maintenance Facility in Surabaya, or by cooperating with our maintenance partners overseas.

* Flight safety is our highest consideration in our services; we always ensure that our aircraft are in perfect operating order. But when unexpected technical problems occur prior to takeoff, there is no question that we have to abort the takeoff, which is in line with the international flight safety procedure released by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As humans and professionals, we make all the necessary preparations. It is also our policy to place the safety of our passengers and crew above all else whenever we are faced with matters that are beyond our control.

IMAM TURIDY

General Manager

Corporate Affairs

Merpati

Jakarta