Merpati links Mataram with Kuala Lumpur

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara (JP): Stated-owned PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines launched on Sunday its first flight from Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia via Surabaya, East Java.

Merpati's president Wahyu Hidayat said that the new route was opened to take the advantage of the surge in the number of workers from NTB and East Java working in the neighboring country.

"Another reason is to anticipate a growing number of Malaysian tourists visiting the two provinces," he told reporters following the inauguration of the new flight.

According to Sutanto, the head of the NTB Manpower Office, the number of locals working in Malaysia peaked at 18,000 last year but had declined to about 13,000 at present.

Wahyu said that he hoped at least 65 percent of the workers would use the Merpati service when going to Malaysia or when returning to their hometowns.

At present, the local workers must first fly to Denpasar, Bali before departing to Malaysia using either Singapore airline Silk Air, or Malaysia's state-owned Malaysian Airline System (MAS), he said.

"We're ready to compete if the other airlines serve the same route," he said, adding that Merpati would have no problems in competing with private airline Lion Airline, which had earlier established a service on the Surabaya-Kuala Lumpur route.

Merpati is also offering a special rate for the first three months to attract more customers, he added.

Merpati will serve the new route daily, except Saturday, using a Boeing 737-200 which is capable of carrying a total of 96 passengers, he said.

The departure time from Selaparang Airport, Mataram to Kuala Lumpur is 8 a.m. while the return flight from Kuala Lumpur is 2:30 p.m. local time.

The Boeing 737-200 is one of four aircraft recently leased by Merpati from the U.S-based companies GECASH and Airgo, he said.

According to Wahyu, the four new planes will be operated on Merpati's new routes which are scheduled to come into service later this year, including those linking Riau's Pekanbaru and the Malaysian town of Melaka, and from Jakarta to Jayapura, Irian Jaya via Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Wahyu said that the opening of the new routes was part of the airline's strategy to boost its profit this year,

Besides the new Malaysian route, Merpati also flies daily to Kuala Lumpur from Jakarta.

"We hope to book a pretax profit of Rp 40 billion (US$3.8 million) this year on total revenues of Rp 1.4 trillion," he said.

Last year, Merpati's revenue rose to Rp 1.1 trillion from Rp 900 billion in 1999, Wahyu said.

Although its income surged, Merpati still suffered a loss of Rp 145 billion last year due to its high operating costs.(05)