Batik, Malindo gear up for maiden services

Batik, Malindo gear up for maiden services

Lion Air, Indonesia’s largest low-cost carrier will soon receive 36 new aircraft to support the operation of the company’s two new airlines, the full service Batik Air and mid-service Malindo scheduled to begin operations next year. Lion director Edward Sirait said the aircraft would be 30 Boeing 737-900 Extended Range (ER) with seating capacity of 177 seats in two classes, or 189 in a single-class layout and six ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner built by the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR. “Most of the aircraft will be operated by Malindo Airways which will commence operations in March next year to cater for the growing Southeast Asian market,” Edward said in Jakarta on Wednesday. Lion Air will own a 49 percent stake of the new airline with the remaining 51 percent owned by Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries. The airline will be based in Malaysia. Meanwhile, another subsidiary Batik Air flying 10 Boeing 737-900 ER planes, expects to start commercial flights in May. The new full service carrier will use six Boeing jets, connecting Jakarta to major cities in the archipelago such as Medan, Denpasar, Manado and cities throughout ASEAN. Batik has recently obtained its flight permit and approval to fly as many as 66 domestic and 20 international routes. Currently, the carrier is processing its Air Operator Certificate. In the future, Batik will use the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, a wide-bodied jet suitable for long-haul international routes. “By operating Batik and Malindo, our position in Southeast Asia region will be strong and we are ready to face the ASEAN Open Sky in 2015,” Edward said. Parent company Lion Air and feeder Wings Air will only add six Boeing 737-900 ER and four ATR-72 aircraft to their operations next year. “We are not adding many new aircraft to Lion and Wings because we are focusing our business on expanding Batik and Malindo in 2013, but we will connect more major cities with Lion and Wings next year,” he added. Among routes they plan to open next year are Medan–Denpasar and Balikpapan–Denpasar. Lion is also set to connect Balikpapan, East Kalimantan with Semarang, Central Java in the middle of December. For Wings Air, he said the carrier would increase flight frequency on its five existing routes: Yogyakarta–Surabaya, Surabaya–Banyuwangi, Denpasar–Bima, Denpasar–Waingapu, and Denpasar–Lombok. On the Surabaya–Banyuwangi and Denpasar–Bima routes, Wings Air will start to daily flights in mid December up from the current three times a week. Lion and Wings will provide 30,000 extra seats from Dec. 22 to Jan. 10, 2013 for travelers during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Routes with expanded capacity include Jakarta–Denpasar, Jakarta–Medan, Jakarta–Ambon, Jakarta–Surabaya, Surabaya–Denpasar, Surabaya–Balikpapan, and Surabaya–Kupang. Via : Jakarta Post