Lion Air
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| Founded | 1999 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | Jakarta | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Lion Passport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 29 (+169 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 30 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Jakarta | ||||||
| Key people | Rusdi Kirana (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.lionair.co.id | ||||||
Lion Air is a low-cost airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It operates scheduled passenger services on an extensive domestic network from Jakarta to 35 destinations, as well as services to Singapore and Malaysia. Its full name is PT Lion Mentari Airlines. Its main base is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta [1].
History
The airline was established in October 1999 and started operations on 30 June 2000, when it began scheduled passenger services between Jakarta and Pontianak using a leased Boeing 737-200. It is wholly owned by Rusdi Kirana and family [1].
In January 2008, Lion Air announced planes to start operating from Australia. The new airline, to be named Lion Air Australia is set to operate as a domestic and international airline. Some media report that Lion Air's alliance with Australia's SkyAirWorld is only a move to get around the bans currently in place for Lion Air to fly to both the United States and European Union.
Incidents and accidents
Incidents include:
- In 2002 one of their aircraft Lion Air Flight JT-386 crashed on take-off and was written off; however no-one was killed.
- In November 2004 a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, Lion Air Flight 538, crashed in Surakarta, killing 25 people. The accident report attributed the cause to poor airport conditions. Data however showed pilot error, and lack of reserve fuel forcing the pilot to attempt to land in bad weather. [citation needed]
- 24 December 2006: A Boeing 737-400 had a hard landing in Makassar[2].
- 1 October 2007: A Boeing 737-900ER (registered as PK-LFJ) tail strike ground while taking off, causing 2.5 m tear in cargo area of the plane.[3]
- December 2007 : MD 90 engine cover and tail pipe fell off on the runway of Soekarno-Hatta airport.
Fleet
The Lion Air fleet includes the following aircraft (as of February 2008):
| Type | Number | Seats | Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 148 | To be phased out: 2009 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 9 | 158 | To be phased out: 2011 | |
| Boeing 737-900ER | 9 (out of 178 firm order) | 212 | Launch Customer | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 3 | one aircraft is operated for Myanmar Airways International | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1 | To be phased out: 2010 | ||
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 | 5 | To be phased out: 2010 | ||
| Total | 29 (+169 orders) |
Lion Air average fleet age is 13.4 years old in February 2008.[4]
First to fly Boeing 737-900ER
_(PK-LFI)_at_Sultan_Hasanuddin_International_Airport.jpg)
On 26 May 2005 Lion Air signed a preliminary agreement with Boeing for the purchase of up to 60 Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft, valued at $3.9 billion. These would replace the current fleet and provide for further expansion. Subsequently in July 2005, Lion Air confirmed a contract for 30 Boeing 737-900ER plus 30 options. The Boeing 737-900ER can carry up to 215 passengers in a single-class layout, and will be powered by CFM56-7B26 turbofan engines.
On 17 July 2006, Lion Air announced it has converted options for another 30 Boeing 737-900ER into firm orders (now total of 60 aircraft on order), with deliveries commencing early 2010 through to 2012.
On April 27 2007, Boeing delivered the first Boeing 737-900ER to the launch customer Lion Air. The airplane was delivered in a special dual paint scheme that combines the Lion Air lion on the vertical stabilizer and the Boeing livery colors on the fuselage.
On June 18 2007, Lion Air announced at the Paris Air Show orders for an additional 40 737-900ER planes bringing its orders to 100.
On December 04 2007, Lion Air announced 22 addition order of 737-900ER bringing the total order to 122 737-900ER.
On February 19 2008, Lion Air added 56 of the 737-900ER which adds the order to 178 planes during the 2008 Singapore Airshow.
External links
References
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 106.
- ^ Flight International 13-19 March 2007
- ^ Republika October 6, 2007
- ^ Lion Air Fleet Age
