Merpati gets set to tackle seven competitors

Merpati, Indonesia's biggest domestic airline, believes it is in good shape to meet the challenge of up to seven new airlines preparing for battle in the country's sky wars.

Air Wagon International Airways (AWAIR) was the first to launch with its maiden flight on June 22, but other carriers are preparing for take-off, claiming they can take on incumbents Garuda and Merpati with a mix of new routes, better frequencies and improved service.

AWAIR has been issued licences for 27 domestic and 28 international routes by the Indonesian government. Initial operations will use two A-310-300 Airbuses on routes between Jakarta-Surabaya, Jakarta-Medan, Jakarta- Balikpapan, and Jakarta- Denpasar.

Merpati business development manager, Achmad Sjafti, said that many of the new airlines were being run by former Garuda and Merpati employees.

"In the current economic climate it is a big risk to be starting new airlines," he said, offering Sempati as an example of an airline with big ideas but which went to the wall during Indonesia's economic crisis.

AWAIR is targeting Singapore, Perth and Taipei for its international services. Sjafti said Merpati would not sit back and allow the newcomers a free ride. It plans to lease new Airbus aircraft as part of an upgrade of its 38 aircraft fleet, which includes Boeing 737-200s, Fokker 100s and Fokker 28s.

"One new route we are looking at for 2001 is Fukouka-Denpasar-Perth," he said. "We believe there is a very good market for a Japan-Bali-Australia service, maybe two or three times a week."

Merpati is also assessing a schedule switch to its daily Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur service. It may switch to morning flights out of Jakarta, returning late afternoon to better suit business clients Latest figures show that arrivals via Denpasar airport for April were largely unchanged when compared to the same month in 1999, decreasing only 0.39 percent. Year to date, Bali airport's foreign arrivals have decreased an overall 4.75 percent.

Bali remains the nation's most popular gateway for foreign visitors, racking up 32.6 per cent of all foreign arrivals, followed by Batam at 31.3 percent and Jakarta at 23.6 percent.