Airline Name
Merpati (P.T. Merpati Nusantara Airlines)IATA: MZ / ICAO: MNA / CALLSIGN: MERPATI
Founded in 1962, commenced operations that same year (Sep. 6th), ceased operations in 2014 (Feb. 1st)
(Financial difficulties)
Country of Origin
Indonesia / Republic of Indonesia ()
Main Hub(s): Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), Juanda International Airport (SUB)
Aircraft Types Used (from those available in WoA)
(For this airline, some types are available in WoA, some not.)Aircraft operated (already in-game/planned):
Airbus A300 (-600, A306) - 1 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MAY - now known as 9K-AHI, preserved)Boeing 737 (-200 Adv, -300, -400, -500, B732/B733/B734/B735) - 38 former.
(16/11/10/1 for each variant, respectively.)
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-200 Adv PK-MBX - status unknown)(Pictured below: Boeing 737-300 PK-MDJ - stored)
Do note that some of their aircraft, seemingly those present later on in the airline’s life (2010s) had “Merpati Nusantara” operator titles compared to just “Merpati”, if I am not wrong (I wasn’t sure if the 737-200 had these):
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-300 PK-MDQ - later scrapped)Before we move to the -400, it’s also worth noting that the -300 had quite a few special color schemes, such as this one, known as “Kli”:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-300 PK-MBP - stored)And just for the record, here’s two seemingly earlier versions of “Kli”:
(Pictured below: Ditto, same aircraft as above)(Pictured below: I think you get the idea by now)
Now, this next special livery was known as “Bugodi”:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-300 PK-MDF - stored)Next up, this special livery was known as “Aoba”:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-300 PK-MDK - later broken up)And finally, as a little extra, there was this bare white livery with a little marking/sticker around the front fuselage (I’m unsure as to what it says, personally):
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-300 PK-MDH - preserved)And with all of that out the way, now for the 737-400s:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-400 PK-MDZ - now known as N403CK)Here’s a livery with the aforementioned alternative typography:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-300 PK-MDR - now known as N309GT, stored)As for the next, and final 737 variant operated:
(Pictured below: Boeing 737-500 PK-MDT - now known as EP-TAH)As for the next aircraft type:
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 (-100, -300, DHC6) - 18 former.
(2/16 for both variants, respectively.)
(Pictured below: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-100 PK-NUA - later written off, known as PK-YPG at end of its life)Here’s an alternative, earlier, scheme for the -100:
(Pictured below: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-100 PK-NUD - later written off in fatal accident, known as PK-YNM at end of its life)They appear to have gotten rid of their DHC-6-100s by September of 1991, so I don’t believe there’s any later liveries to display, or any other liveries in general.
As for the DHC-6-300s though:
(Pictured below: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 PK-NUR - status unknown, likely broken up)Next up, here were the two aforementioned “early” liveries for the DHC-6, this time on the -300:
(Pictured below: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 PK-NUT - later written off in fatal accident)(Pictured below: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 PK-NUE - later written off in fatal accident)
Here’s another alternative (though later) livery for the type:
(Pictured below: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 PK-NUH - status unknown, likely broken up)And finally, the standard livery, except with a “Tropical” sticker/decal around the nose:
(Pictured below: De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 PK-NUZ - status unknown)And with the DHC-6s covered, moving onto the next type:
Fokker 100 (no specific variant, F100) - 7 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MJD - later written off)Interestingly, this same aircraft later had decals involving the coat of arms of the regencies of West Sumba and East Sumba (according to the photographer’s comment), as seen here:
(Pictured below: Ditto, same aircraft as above)Aircraft operated (not in-game):
ATR-72 (-200, AT72) - 1 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MFA - now known as S2-AFN)Airbus A310 (-300, A310) - 2 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MAX - later broken up, known as N802FD at end of its life)And just for the record, a slightly different alternative livery for the type:
(Pictured below: PK-MAW - now known as N801FD, stored)Moving on:
BAC 1-11 (-400, BA11) - 1 former.
(Pictured below: N5032 - later broken up, known as 5N-EHI at end of its life)British Aerospace BAe 146 (-100, B461) - 1 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MTA - later broken up, known as VH-NJA at end of its life)Apologies for the quality on that shot, it was the best angle I could find of the aircraft.
As for the next type:
British Aerospace BAe ATP (no specific variant, ATP) - 5 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MTY - later broken up, known as CS-TGY at end of its life)Boeing 707 (-120B, -320B, -320C, B701/B703) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: Boeing 707-120B N107BN - later broken up, known as N46D at end of its life)Here’s a rather interesting hybrid Merpati-Pan Am livery, likely leased from the latter:
(Pictured below: Boeing 707-320B N424PA - later scrapped, known as 4X-ATF at end of its life)And as for the final type, a notable cargo livery:
(Pictured below: Boeing 707-320C LZ-FEB - later written off in fatal accident, known as 4K-401 at end of its life)Now, onto the next aircraft:
Boeing 727 (-200 Adv, B722) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: PK-MBW - later scrapped)Here’s an alternative (earlier?) livery for the type:
(Pictured below: PK-MBV - later broken up, known as 9Q-CHE at end of its life)Moving on, next up:
CASA/IPTN C-212 Aviocar (-100, -200, C212) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: CASA/IPTN C-212-100 Aviocar PK-NCD - status unknown)(Pictured below: CASA/IPTN C-212-200 Aviocar PK-NCZ - later written off)
Next, a slightly modified livery variant with a little slogan at the aft fuselage:
(Pictured below: CASA/IPTN CN-212-200 PK-NCO - later written off)And here’s another example of the early, 1980s livery found on the type:
(Pictured below: CASA/IPTN CN-212-200 PK-NCW - status unknown)CASA/IPTN CN-235 (-10, CN35) - 1 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MNE - derelict)Douglas DC-3 (C-47A, DC3) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: PK-NDM - status unknown)Fokker F27 Friendship (-500, -500F, -500F/RF, -600, F27) - exact number of aircraft operated not available or not clear.
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-500 PK-MFW - status unknown)Here’s an older livery for this type:
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-500 PK-GRJ - later scrapped, known as PK-MFX at end of its life)As for the next variant:
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-500F PK-MFL - later written off in fatal accident)Some -500Fs had little slogans put up around the aft fuselage, such as these next few examples:
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-500F PK-MFF - status unknown)(Pictured below: Fokker F27-500F PK-MFL - again)
Now, here’s another cargo aircraft (and new variant):
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-500F/RF PK-GRG - status unknown)And finally, to end off the -500s, here’s the aforementioned variant with a slogan:
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-500F/RF PK-GRF - later broken up)Now, onto the -600s:
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-600 PK-MFD - later written off in fatal accident)Early (late 1980s?) livery once more:
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-600 PK-MFE - later scrapped, known as PK-YPO at end of its life)And an even earlier livery (dated in early 1980s):
(Pictured below: Fokker F27-600 PK-MFH - later written off in fatal accident, known as PK-YPM at end of its life)With all of that out the way, now we can move to:
Fokker F28 (-3000, -3000R, -3000RC, -4000, F28) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: Fokker F28-3000 PK-GFU - later written off in fatal accident)(Pictured below: Fokker F28-3000R PK-GFS - now known as PK-HNN, stored)
(Pictured below: Fokker F28-3000RC PK-GFW - status unknown)
(Pictured below: Fokker F28-4000 PK-GKW - status unknown)
Now before moving onto the next type, the -4000 had a few notable livery variants:
(Pictured below: Fokker F28-4000 PK-MGM - stored)This next example has a little decal at the front that I can’t quite name or determine what it is from photographer comment, though it might be a coat of arms or similar (like what was shown earlier):
(Pictured below: Fokker F28-4000 PK-MGK - stored)Alright, and with those done, moving to the next aircraft type:
Hawker Siddeley 748 (Series 2A, A748) - 3 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MHR - later scrapped)Here’s some examples of earlier liveries on this type:
(Pictured below: Ditto, same aircraft as above)(Pictured below: PK-MHM - later scrapped)
Now, while many sources claim there were two HS 748s operated, I was able to find an image of a supposed third aircraft - however I did notice it still had the United Kingdom’s registration prefix, so maybe it was eventually not taken up/delivered? Not sure, but here it is anyways:
(Pictured below: G-ATAM - now known as C-GMAA)As for the next aircraft:
NAMC YS-11 (-100, YS11) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: PK-MYT - later scrapped, known as RP-C2014 at end of its life)Lockheed L-100 (-30, -30(P), C130) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: Lockheed L-100-30 PK-MLS - later written off in fatal accident, known as A-1325 at end of its life)Here’s that same aircraft earlier in its life, in the standard Merpati livery (with a small slogan):
(Pictured below: Ditto, same aircraft as above)As for the other variant:
(Pictured below: Lockheed L-100-30(P) PK-MLT - now known as A-1326)As for the next type:
Lockheed L-1011 (-100, L101) - 1 former.
(Pictured below: HS-LTA - later broken up, known as XU-600 at end of its life)If this aircraft seems a bit familiar, it’s because it actually showed up before in one of my recent suggestions, specifically the one regarding Kampuchea Airlines. It’s almost entirely identical - besides, of course, the Merpati operating title.
Now, moving on:McDonnell Douglas DC-9 (-32, DC93) - 17 former.
(Pictured below: PK-GNM - now known as 9Q-CWE, stored)Vickers Viscount (812, 828, 832, VISC) - exact number of aircraft operated not available/not clear.
(Pictured below: Vickers 812 Viscount PK-MVO - later scrapped)(Pictured below: Vickers 828 Viscount PK-MVM - later scrapped)
Here’s a few examples of Merpati’s alternative, older liveries on the type:
(Pictured below: Vickers 828 Viscount PK-MVG - later scrapped)(Pictured below: Vickers 828 Viscount PK-MVM - again)
And for the Viscount 832, here were those last two liveries on the type:
(Pictured below: Vickers 832 Viscount PK-MVN - later broken up)(Pictured below: Ditto, same aircraft as above)
Now, the second to final aircraft type:
Vickers Vanguard (951, 952, 953, V951/V952/V953) - exact number of aircraft operated not available or not clear.
(Correct me if I’m wrong on the aircraft type designator, I didn’t find much reliable sources for it.)
(Pictured below: Vickers 951 Vanguard G-APEF - later scrapped, known as PK-MVJ at end of its life)Up next, the two older livery variants covered before:
(Pictured below: Vickers 952 Vanguard PK-MVA - later scrapped)(Pictured below: Vickers 952 Vanguard PK-MVR - later scrapped, known as F-BXOG at end of its life)
And now, the 953:
(Pictured below: Vickers 953 Vanguard PK-MVF - later broken up)And now, as for our final type:
Xi’an MA60 (no specific variant, MA60) - 15 former.
(Pictured below: PK-MZG - stored)(Pictured below: PK-MZN - stored)
As a sidenote before I move to the final section: I apologize if there were any inaccuracies or errors here, some information was conflicting and some was outright unavailable, so I put a few assumptions to work. If you spot any errors, please do put it in the replies and I’ll verify it accordingly if proven true.
Why should this airline be added?
I’d say this airline should be added as it is rich in Asian aviation history, has excellent fleet/livery diversity, with several niche types operated by them and quite a few special liveries, and it would be accessible as a normal map contract as well, given it operated well past the 2010s.More specifically, all types of the 737s, some Fokker 100s, the only ATR, and some DHC-6-300s operated into the 2010s, allowing them to abide by the “2010s rule”. This is quite a nice bit of content available to players normally, and the event material is even better - as stated before, the airline had several niche or lesser-used aircraft, like the MA60, L-100, C-212, CA-235, so on, and if added would provide a nice extra bit of content/liveries to work with.
So, as a recap, I think this airline should be added because of its history in aviation, various aircraft types, from standard, reliable 737s to unique L-100s, many liveries to work with, and of course, provides a great mix of accessibility as both a map contract operator and an event operator.
Sources:
Merpati’s Planespotters.net Page (1962-1987 time period)
Merpati’s Planespotters.net Page (1987-2014 time period)
Merpati’s Wikipedia Page