Over the decades I have been flying around the archipelago of Indonesia I have flown in some real metal heaps in which many times I have prayed to any God that would listen to me and grant safety in landing.
The old Fokker-27’s were a classic example. Now, Merpati has decided to lease 15 Chinese MA-16 propeller planes (I hope the rubber bands are included in the price) to replace the mighty rattling fokkers. And, they will use these latest additions to the fleet on their eastern routes. On my future journeys to East Nusa Tenggara I will now be boat-hopping!.
Chinese planes are notorious for ‘dropping out of the sky’ as my wife would say.
Apart from MA-60, Merpati will also lease 13 Boeing planes of the 737 series. Merpati currently operates 22 planes and had 2.4 million passengers last year, a tiny share from the national figure of some 34 million passengers in 2006.
I somehow think Garuda Airlines has just had their seat numbers boosted by Merpati’s acquisition. Merpati might be cheap to fly with but my life is precious and I just don’t trust Chinese-made planes, or, Russian planes!.
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