Merpati plans to serve more international routes

Merpati plans to serve more international routes

JAKARTA (JP): Merpati Nusantara Airlines, a subsidiary of the
national flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia, plans to augment its
service to overseas destinations and cut down on unprofitable
domestic and regional routes.

Merpati's director of operations, Prasetyo Wisaksono, said
here yesterday that the airline plans to open, later this year, a
route linking Jakarta and Hong Kong via Medan in North Sumatra by
operating Airbus A-310-300 aircraft.

He said the government has shown the green light for the
Jakarta-Hong Kong route.

"The Hong Kong authority has also licensed us to serve the
British colony, but we have to first coordinate our slot," he
said.

"A-310 aircraft will also be operated to fly thrice weekly to
Melbourne, Australia, starting later this month," he said, after
attending a ceremony to commemorate Merpati's 34th anniversary at
its headquarters yesterday.

He said that Merpati has leased two five-year-old A-310s from
a French financing company.

The Jakarta-Melbourne route was originally scheduled to
commence last month.

"The service to Melbourne will commence later this month
because one of the two A-310 aircraft was only recently delivered
after having configuration adjustments made," Merpati's
president, Budiarto Subroto, said.

The aircraft arrived last night at the Soekarno-Hatta airport,
west of here, after leaving Toulouse in France on Thursday via
Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.

The Airbus A-310 series, with an original configuration of 220
seats, have been the most profitable aircraft. Merpati has
ordered a configuration with 186 seats.

According to Budiarto, Merpati is currently evaluating a
number of "skinny routes" which bring less revenue or make
losses.

Merpati, for instance, recently terminated its twice-weekly
service from Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara to Darwin in Australia
due to a low load factor. The airline also serves a few regional
routes to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

Budiarto refused, however, to disclose his company's losses in
the first six months of this year. In a report to the House of
Representatives earlier this year, the airline's losses were
estimated at Rp 64 billion this year, as compared to losses of
Rp 93.12 billion ($39.2 million) last year.

The company, assigned to serve remote areas in the country
with fewer passengers, currently operates 85 aircraft of various
types -- B-737-200s, F-28s, F-27s, ATPs, Casa-212s and Twin
Otters -- most of which are aged.

Prasetyo said that Merpati is attempting to improve its public
service, particularly its flight punctuality.

"We have some 400 flights per day. The current rate for
canceled and delayed (by over 15 minutes) services is 20
percent," he said.

He admitted that there have been several delays in Merpati's
schedules for a variety of reasons. (icn)