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omestic airlines showed service improvement as a result of recording better on time performance (OTP) during the first half of this year, a sign that the newly implemented regulation on delay that requires airline companies compensate passengers with Rp 300,000 (US$31.8), was effective.

Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan said the largest improvement was recorded by Indonesia’s largest budget carrier, Lion Air. Its OTP increased from 70.16 percent in the first half of 2011, to 75.14 percent in the same period this year. Privately owned mid-service Sriwijaya Air came in second place after recording a 78.87 percent OTP, up from 76.17 percent during the same period last year.

Batavia Air, was ranked third for improvement in its OTP, rising slightly from 70.53 percent last year to 70.60 percent this year.

“We really appreciate the airline companies’ efforts to better serve passengers this year and we hope that they can continue to improve their performance in the future,” Bambang said.

The government, as of Jan. 1, 2012 under ministry regulation No. 77/2011 on airline responsibility, now requires aviation companies to compensate each passenger with Rp 300,000 as compensation for a four-hour delayed flight.

The regulation also requires airlines to pay passengers Rp 150,000 ($15.90) if they re-route flights to other destinations, and that they make all necessary arrangements to get the passengers to their original destination.

Any flight cancelation must be made seven days prior to a flight and passengers will receive a full refund, according to the regulation.

In addition, if a flight is cancelled within seven days of departure, the airline must pay compensation equal to the value of the ticket on top of the full refund.

Ministry data also showed there were two carriers that saw a decline in their OTP figures.

National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia recorded an average 85.46 percent OTP during January to June 2012, a slight decrease from 86.22 percent in the same period last year. However, this figure was still high enough to rank Garuda as the best performer.

Debt-ridden Merpati Nusantara Airlines (Merpati) was the only carrier that received a “red report” from the ministry, for its failure to meet the government’s standards. “Their on-time performance fell from 72.36 percent in the first half of last year, to 66.31 percent this year,” he said.

An airline would be categorized as performing poorly if their OTP was below 70 percent.

Contacted separately, Merpati corporate secretary Herry Saptanto claimed the ministry data’s was wrong. Based on Merpati’s internal audit, the airline’s OTP was more than 80 percent. “We are going to discuss this with the ministry’s air transportation directorate general because we have been working hard to better serve our customers,” Herry said.