Indonesia's Merpati Flies Into Trouble

It seemed like a coup for both China and Indonesia when in 2006 Indonesia’s domestic state-owned airline Merpati Nusantara agreed to pay US$225 million for 15 Xinzhou-60 passenger planes, the proudest product of the mainland’s nascent aircraft industry and China’s shot across the bow of the world’s airline industry.

But now the hapless Merpati finds itse…