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)