Merpati is striving to improve performance

Merpati is striving to improve performance

JAKARTA (JP): As the tariff war among the country's scheduled
airlines ends, competition in domestic air service is currently
focusing on the quality of services and human resources, an
executive says.

"We have to start concentrating on improving our services and
the quality of our human resources, particularly pilots," Merpati
Nusantara President Ridwan Fatarudin told reporters after
attending a ceremony to commemorate the company's 32nd
anniversary here, yesterday.

He said that Merpati, a subsidiary of the state-owned air
carrier Garuda Indonesia, currently hires 600 pilots who go on to
obtain further training in Australia.

Fatarudin also said that Merpati will soon change the uniforms
of its cabin crew with the aim of creating a better image for the
company.

"We are also waiting for the government regulation that will
separate the management of Merpati from Garuda," he said.

The proposal on the split of the two companies was submitted
to the government last year after a study showed that there were
conflicts of interest that affected the operations of the two
airlines. Garuda currently concentrates its service on
international and major domestic routes, while Merpati focuses
its business on domestic flights.

Merpati, however, has now been allowed to serve Singapore and
Australia.

Merpati, has a fleet of 90 aircraft, including five advanced
turbo propellers (ATPs), 11 Cassa-212s, 10 Twin Otters, 13
Fokker-27s, three Fokker-100s, 14 CN-235s, six DC-9s and 28 F-
28s. The company currently serves 182 routes, including some
border crossing flights between Palembang and Singapore,
Pekanbaru and Singapore, Pontianak and Singapore, Padang and
Singapore, Kupang and Darwin, and Denpasar and Port Hedland.

According to Ridwan, among the country's six scheduled air
airlines, his company has the majority of routes. He said that
this also includes remote areas with a small number of
passengers.

Besides Merpati and Garuda, Indonesia also has four other
scheduled air carriers -- Mandala Airlines, Bouraq Indonesia,
Sempati Air and Dirgantara Air Service.

Cancellation

Meanwhile, Merpati's finance director, Syarifuddin Iteroedin,
said the government will cancel a plan to buy six Fokker-100
aircraft for Garuda because there is no agreement on prices.

Garuda previously planned to buy 12 new F-100 aircraft, whose
delivery would be transferred to Merpati because Garuda would no
longer operate such aircraft. Merpati, however, has refused to
procure the airplanes at US$32 million each as the company
believes that their proper price should be only $28 million each.

Iteroedin said that after a series of negotiations, Merpati
reached a conclusion that half of the order should be canceled.

"Three F-100s have been delivered to Merpati, while three
other will be leased at $275,000 per month for 12 years," he
said. He added that the Indonesian and the Dutch parties will
hold a meeting about the cancellation of the other six F-100s.

He admitted that Merpati or the government will likely have to
bear a penalty due to the cancellation, "but it's a way-out."

Iteroedin said Merpati expects to gain total revenues of Rp
600 billion ($275.86 million) this year, some 10 percent higher
than last year.(icn)