Merpati to rent 7 Boeing airplanes this year

National flag carrier Merpati Nusantara Airlines says it will move forward in its plan to rent seven Boeing 737 Classic series airplanes this year, undeterred by the recent discovery of cracked fuselage on a US Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 airplane.

Merpati president director Sardjono Jhony Tjitrokusumo reiterated the plan on Thursday, saying the airline had no intention to cancel it.

He said conditions of any airplanes, whether they were safe or not, would depend on maintenance activities performed by the airlines.

“You will also have to see what year the planes were made and if they [the airlines] perform regular checks and other measures,” Jhony said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Merpati is reportedly planning to rent seven Boeing 737 Classic series airplanes produced in 1995. It currently has 11 Boeing planes of the series, two of which are being grounded.

“We've checked some of the planes and haven't found any problems,” Jhony said.

Earlier, Indonesia's Transportation Ministry ordered some local airlines to conduct inspections on their Boeing 737 planes following the US plane accident.