Merpati to lease Garuda planes

Merpati to lease Garuda planes

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned airline PT Merpati Nusantara plans
to lease F-28 aircraft owned by flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia
in order to overcome an aircraft shortage when it begins
servicing new domestic routes, a senior executive said.

"Merpati will propose it (the plan) to Garuda, but we don't
know whether or not they will agree," Merpati finance director
Budiman was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said the company was willing to offer Garuda a revenue
sharing scheme in return for the aircraft.

The plan was in response to Garuda's decision to modernize its
fleet in March this year. Garuda's five F-28s will be replaced
with Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

Merpati currently owns three Fokker F-100, 10 Fokker F-28,
seven Fokker F-27, five Boeing 737-200, six DHC Twin-Otter and
several Cassa 212. (tnt)