Ailing Merpati set to offer business class

Despite its financial problems, state-run Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati) says that it is going to provide business class service starting on Aug. 1 in order to improve service to its loyal customers.

Merpati vice president for communications Herry Saptanto said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the new service would be available it its Boeing 737s serving Jakarta-Dili, Jakarta-Makassar and Makassar-Merauke with more routes expected to join the business class if the demand continues to rise in the future.

“We decided to provide business class because we want to spoil our customers with a much better service. This is our appreciation for those who frequently fly with us,” Herry told The Jakarta Post.

The airline will offer 8 business seats in its seven B737 family.

He said that demand for business class was growing especially from executives, state officials, and leisure tourists who fly between the capital city and Dili, East Timor, Makassar and South Sulawesi more than once a month. “We believe that it is perfect timing to launch this new service because we are approaching Idul Fitri holidays where a lot of people travel for holiday,” he said. The airline is currently studying whether it would be feasible to offer business class in Merauke-Jayapura and Manado-Timika via Sorong routes.

In a bid to improve its service, Merpati is in the process of rejuvenating coaches that are used to transfer its passengers to aircraft in airports which only have a small number of aerobridges, he added.

“We will rejuvenate the coaches gradually as we are committed to deliver a completely good service to our passengers as best as we can,” he went on. The firm currently has 31 planes with 23 of them under operations: 13 Xian MA60s, 11 Boeing 737s, five Twin Otters and two Cassa 212s flying to more than 30 destinations across the archipelago.

In addition, the airline is set to add 5,000 extra seats to accommodate surging demand during the
upcoming exodus.

The additional seats would be available on seven days prior to up to nine days after Idul Fitri for flights between Jakarta and Surabaya, Makassar and Surabaya, Bandung and Yogyakarta, Bandung and Semarang, and Semarang and Sampit.

However, he said that the firm would increase the number of additional seats if there was more demand from the customers during that period.

Moreover, Merpati will team up with postal firm PT Pos Indonesia so that the airline could reach more customers by using Post networks.

He said that customers in Jabodetabek [Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi] and Bandung would be able to purchase Merpati’s tickets in nearby post offices starting Tuesday. Meanwhile, the same service would be available for customers who live in Makassar, Denpasar and Surabaya next week.

State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan said recently that the government might sell Merpati to strategic investors to help salvage the ailing airline, which has been burdened by the huge debt totaling Rp 6 trillion. Dahlan explained that his ministry had carried out various restructuring programs, from a fund injection, downsizing and relocation of the company’s head office, to converting its debts to private creditors into shares.

Besides being heavily in debt to the government, Merpati also owes money to several state companies, including oil and gas firm Pertamina and airport management company Angkasa Pura II. (Nurfika Osman)