Merpati launches new cargo service

Merpati launches new cargo service

JAKARTA (JP): Merpati Nusantara Airlines, a subsidiary of the
national air carrier Garuda Indonesia, has introduced a
guaranteed cargo service in cooperation with its affiliated firm
PT Mega Titian Nusantara.

Merpati's marketing director, Budhihargo, said here over the
weekend that the service, called Cargo Mega Express, offered a
guaranteed eight to 16-hour door-to-door and four-hour port-to-
port deliveries.

Mega Titian, which is owned by Merpati's pension fund, deals
with general cargo handling and aircraft cleaning.

"Since Jan. 1 this year, we have been operating a pilot
project on the Jakarta-Semarang (Central Java) route which showed
promise," he said. "The project has doubled Merpati's cargo
handling for the route."

Similar services have also been introduced on the routes from
Jakarta to Palembang in South Sumatra, Medan in North Sumatra,
and Pontianak in West Kalimantan, starting last week, he said.

He said that services would also be launched later this year
on other routes, including from Jakarta to Padang in West
Sumatra, Bengkulu, Tanjung Pinang, Pekanbaru and Pangkal Pinang
in South Sumatra, Tanjung Karang, Batam, Yogyakarta, and Bandung
in West Java.

Merpati would offer cargo services to several other cities in
the countries it served, he said.

The company currently serves more than 180 routes, including
border crossing flights from several cities in Indonesia to
Singapore and the Australian cities of Darwin and Port Hedland.

According to Mega Titian's president, Sabekti, the new cargo
services will be limited at 200 kilograms in each of Merpati's
flights.

Budhihargo said his company would pay "less than 10 percent"
in commission to Mega Titian from its annual revenues.

Merpati planned in 1994 to operate a Boeing-707, a special
aircraft for its cargo service by cooperating with PT
Indopasific, a joint venture between Indonesian and Australian
companies, which would manage marketing.

Due to some unspecified differences, the plan, however, was
dropped soon after Merpati signed a preliminary accord and
launched a promotion. (icn)