Indonesia’s Lion Air will set up a new low-cost airline in Malaysia as part of an aggressive regional expansion.The new airline will see Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries owns 51% shares while the remaining will be under Lion Air.
Malindo Airways is expected to fly between Indonesia – Malaysia with a fleet of 12 new Boeing 737 planes in May 2013, before expanding to other cities in Southeast Asia.
By 2015, Malindo Airways is planned to fly Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets to routes in China, Japan and Australia.
Based on the report, Malindo Airways‘ tickets prices will be competitive, either in the same range as rival AirAsia or “even lower.” The airline’s planes will be fitted with a lower-than-usual 150 seats coupled with inflight entertainment and light meals.
“The idea is to build passenger growth by giving them affordable prices and better service,” Rusdi told a news conference.
Malaysian officials said the joint venture will provide the regional budget air travel industry with healthy competition and help the country reach its aim of becoming a regional aviation hub, competing with Singapore and Thailand.
Lion Air will manage the airline while its Malaysian partner will handle training and aircraft maintenance. Malindo Airways is also expected to operate from the new KLIA2 Airport next year.
With the establishment of Malindo Airways, we believe that the passengers will have better options and not to rely so much on AirAsia services.
Pingback: Free AirAsia tickets with 1Malaysia Integration Programme | Airline Asia Portal