Indonesian state-owned carrier Merpati Nusantara Airlines is tweaking its business model and streamlining its fleet in response to new competition from low-cost carriers and ahead of a long-anticipated privatisation.
President director Hotasi Nababan says the carrier aims to secure private investors in the first quarter of next year. Merpati has started a fleet simplification effort that will take it from nine to three aircraft types. Costs have been reduced by improving productivity and basing a portion of wages on financial performance. Merpati has reduced unit seat kilometre costs from 6¢ to 4.2¢ and aircraft turnaround times from 45min to 30min. Load factor has improved from 65% to 79%.
Merpati now operates 42 aircraft - seven Boeing 737-200s, two 737-400s, two 727-100s, three Fokker 100s, eight Fokker 28s, six Fokker 27s, two Indonesian Aerospace CN-235s, six CN-212s and six de Havilland Canada Twin Otters. The carrier aims to have just one aircraft type each in the 20-seat, 50-seat and 120 to 150-seat categories. In two years, Merpati aims to operate 15 aircraft in the smallest category, 10 aircraft in the mid and 20 aircraft in the large. Beyond that, it envisages adding 10 more narrowbodies and five more 20-seaters.
Merpati has selected the ATR 42 as its 50-seat aircraft and has signed a deal with Bank of America for the lease of six aircraft, plus four options. Nababan says the first ATR 42 will be delivered early next year. He says Merpati will focus on the 737-300s and -400s in the 120- to 150-seat category. As a result, the -200s will be phased out over the next two years.
For the 20-seat category, Merpati would be interested in a new aircraft type should Indonesian Aerospace move forward with plans to develop a new 19-seat short take-off and landing turboprop.
Source: Flight International
