Lion’s Batik Air to launch this month
Indonesia’s rapidly expanding carrier Lion Air will launch another new subsidiary airline by the end of this month.
Batik Air, Lion’s new Jakarta-based full-service subsidiary, will commence commercial flights on 26 April, an airline executive confirmed this week. It had previously been expected to launch in May. According to a Jakarta Post report, citing Lion Air’s Commercial Director Edward Sirait, Batik Air will initially operate services connecting Jakarta to Manado and Balikpapan, using a Boeing 737-900 aircraft which is scheduled to be delivered on 16 April. And Sirait said that Batik would quickly expand its fleet of aircraft, enabling it to add new destinations across Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
“We will gradually operate more aircraft every year to expand our business,” Edward was quoted saying on the sidelines of government meeting in Jakarta this week. “We plan to operate six aircraft by the end of this year to connect major cities in Indonesia.”
Batik’s single-aisle B737-900 aircraft will come fitted with 12 seats in business class and 160 in economy. The airline also promises to offer a series of in-flight services, such as mobile and Wi-Fi connectivity, meals and on-demand in-flight entertainment.
It will become the second airline launched by Lion in as many months, following the inauguration of Kuala Lumpur-based low-cost carrier Malindo Airlines in late March. Sirait said earlier this month that Lion plans to set up a series of regional subsidiaries in markets such as Australia, Myanmar and Vietnam, mirroring the expansion strategies used by AirAsia and Jetstar. Following huge recent deals with Boeing and Airbus, the group now has outstanding orders for more than 500 aircraft.
As well as Batik and Malindo, Lion also operates domestic carrier Wings Air, which operates a fleet of mainly turboprop aircraft to smaller towns and cities in Indonesia.