Regional Round-Up
Lion Air subsidiary challenges Garuda’s supremacy
March 1st 2014
Fast expanding Indonesian budget carrier, Lion Air, has announced that its 10 month-old full service carrier, Batik Air, will add 10 jets to its fleet this year and up to 30 more in 2015 as it mounts a bid for a share of Garuda Indonesia’s premium travel market. Read More » A company spokesman said it would be taking delivery of six A320s from July and four B737-800s in the final four months of this year. The new aircraft will be two class configurations with up to 12 business class seats per aircraft. Batik Air said it is filling 90% of its seats and believes it can maintain its high load factor with the fleet expansion. Chief executive, Achmad Luthie, said in Singapore last month that Batik Air would extend its domestic network from 10 to 20 Indonesian cities and fly to Singapore from December and to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong and yet-to-be announced Mainland China destinations in 2015. The premium segment is a very big market in Indonesia, he said, with a growing number of passengers prepared to pay for service that includes free luggage allowances, onboard meals and entertainment. Indonesia’s geography, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, coupled with the country’s expanding middle class, provides promising market conditions for growth, said Batik Air.
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