News
Indonesia’s Lion Air Group plans Australian subsidiary
December 2nd 2016
‘Just what we needed’ was probably the reaction of Australian aviation executives when it was confirmed, via its official Facebook and Twitter accounts on Monday that, the Lion Air Group’s subsidiary, Batik Air, had secured an air operator's certificate in Australia. Read More » Lion Air Group CEO, Rusdi Kirana, said Batik plans to commence a daily Bali-Perth route, "before establishing a new carrier in Australia", reported the Jakarta Globe. Lion Group’s Malaysian subsidiary, Malindo Air, serves Perth from Kuala Lumpur.
Last week, Vietnamese media said Lion Air is planning a joint venture in Vietnam in 2017 with 49% held by Lion and the remaining 51% held by a local partner. The Indonesian group certainly has enough aircraft coming on line to support new subsidiaries. It has ordered close to 500 Airbus and Boeing single aisle planes, including the A320/A321neo and B737 MAX, and operates approximately 200 aircraft across its subsidiaries.
Separately, The Jakarta Post said Lion Air co-founder, Rusdi Kirana, a member of the presidential advisory board, could become Indonesia’s next ambassador to Malaysia. Malindo is based in Kuala Lumpur.
