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Lion Air and NADI announced a JV - Malindo Air

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Interestingly, there is a maid-agency in KL called "MALINDO" ... so I suspect [and hope] that the creative sparks in the new JV airline are coming up with a name. Lion Air Malaysia sounds good though.

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A more in-depth aviation centric report as usal from Flightglobal - note the planned 787 base in KUL!

 

Lion Air, Malaysian partner launch Malindo Airways

 

 

By: Mavis Toh Kuala Lumpur

9 minutes ago

Source: pro.png

 

 

 

 

 

Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air will start a hybrid airline in Malaysia in a joint venture with the country's National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI).

The new carrier, named Malindo Airways, will start operations in May 2013 with a fleet of 12 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft.

It will provide a "hybrid product" with its aircraft in a two class configuration - 12 in business class and 168 in economy. The aircraft will also be equipped with inflight entertainment systems and inflight connectivity, says Lion president director Rusdi Kirana at a press event in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of the signing ceremony.

Under the joint venture agreement, NADI will hold 51% in the new carrier and Lion 49%. The airline has named Kirana's personal assistant Chandran Ramamuthy as its chief.

Malindo will be based at Kuala Lumpur International Airport terminal two and focus on routes between Malaysia and Lion's hub in Indonesia before operating to other cities such as Bangkok, Manila, Hanoi and Guangzhou. It will also operate on domestic routes.

The carrier intends to add 12 aircraft to its fleet annually, including the 737Max and Boeing 787s. These aircraft will come from Lion Air's current order book, says Kirana.

The five 787s Lion has on order - originally set for its premium carrier Batik Air - will instead go to Malindo in 2015. Lion is now in talks with Boeing to order an additional 10 787s, says Kirana.

To compete as a newcomer, the new airline will offer ticket prices lower or at least on par with that of Malaysia low-cost carrier AirAsia, says Kirana. He claims that Malindo will have a low cost base owing to the involvement of NADI.

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NADI, Lion Air In Joint Venture To Form Malindo Airways

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 -- National Aerospace and Defence Industry (NADI) and PT Lion Air have signed a joint venture agreement to establish a new low-cost airline, Malindo Airways, which is expected to start operations in May next year at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2.

 

"The JV will see NADI holding a 51 per cent stake with the remaining shares belonging to PT Lion Air," PT Lion Air President Director Rusdi Kirana told a media briefing today.

 

NADI is a Bumiputera investment holding company involved in the aerospace and defence industy, while PT Lion Air, based in Jakarta, is Indonesia's largest privately run airline.

 

--BERNAMA

 

Lion Air to set up budget carrier in Malaysia

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Indonesia's Lion Air will set up a low-cost airline in Malaysia that will take off in May 2013 as part of an aggressive regional expansion.

 

The move will see Lion Air, which controls nearly half the air travel market in Indonesia, playing catch-up to the region's top budget carrier AirAsia. It follows AirAsia's recent acquisition of Batavia Air in a bid to tap Indonesia's 230 million population.

 

Lion Air will own 49 percent of the new airline, Malindo Airways, and Malaysia's National Aerospace and Defence Industries the remaining 51 percent.

 

Lion Air President Rusdi Kirana says Malindo Airways will start flying between the two countries with a fleet of 12 Boeing 737 planes in May, before expanding to other cities in Southeast Asia.

 

--businessweek.com

Edited by cheecheng

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A more in-depth aviation centric report as usal from Flightglobal - note the planned 787 base in KUL!

 

Lion Air, Malaysian partner launch Malindo Airways

 

The carrier intends to add 12 aircraft to its fleet annually, including the 737Max and Boeing 787s. These aircraft will come from Lion Air's current order book, says Kirana.

 

The five 787s Lion has on order - originally set for its premium carrier Batik Air - will instead go to Malindo in 2015. Lion is now in talks with Boeing to order an additional 10 787s, says Kirana.

 

To compete as a newcomer, the new airline will offer ticket prices lower or at least on par with that of Malaysia low-cost carrier AirAsia, says Kirana. He claims that Malindo will have a low cost base owing to the involvement of NADI.

A very good development for Malaysia aviation industry. However, DCA should approach the issue with cautious as EU has not remove Lion Air from list of blacklisted airlines yet. Moreover, every now and then we heard of safety lapses from Lion Air.

 

On a more positive note, they will operate the fist B787, making them ahead of MH! LOLX! I just got to say it....... same time as AirAsia getting their first A350. Lets hope A350 won't face any major delay.

 

I am not really drawn to Lion Air. My colleagues hate Lion Air due to the REALLY tight seat pitch. 28" or 29" I think. Seats literally has no cushion at all. It was a torturous two hours flight from Jakarta.

 

I wonder how does the involvement of NADI will contribute to low cost base? Maintenance?

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Was at the launch at Golden Horses earlier, ambitious but very vague and non-committal when it came to Q&As. They will only start on 1 May, klia2 completion pending and all, and will use klia2 as their hub to the region and East Asia, with BKI touted as their secondary hub.

 

Logo looks like Lion Air's, and they're very determined to put the 787 in KUL. They did say that they'll be spending the next few months sorting out the airline and all, not sure if AOC has been issued yet though.

 

It's a 4 part agreement, including airline set-up and MRO, and Lion plans to have a training academy for cabin crew in Malaysia. Haven't gone through sideshows properly yet.

 

img2012091100146.jpg

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Was at the launch at Golden Horses earlier, ambitious but very vague and non-committal when it came to Q&As. They will only start on 1 May, klia2 completion pending and all, and will use klia2 as their hub to the region and East Asia, with BKI touted as their secondary hub.

 

Logo looks like Lion Air's, and they're very determined to put the 787 in KUL. They did say that they'll be spending the next few months sorting out the airline and all, not sure if AOC has been issued yet though.

 

It's a 4 part agreement, including airline set-up and MRO, and Lion plans to have a training academy for cabin crew in Malaysia. Haven't gone through sideshows properly yet.

 

img2012091100146.jpg

 

Let's see how it goes when times comes. But anyway, with the PM as the honour guest for their event, I personally think that it means something anyway...Hope for the best...

 

A very good development for Malaysia aviation industry. However, DCA should approach the issue with cautious as EU has not remove Lion Air from list of blacklisted airlines yet. Moreover, every now and then we heard of safety lapses from Lion Air.

 

On a more positive note, they will operate the fist B787, making them ahead of MH! LOLX! I just got to say it....... same time as AirAsia getting their first A350. Lets hope A350 won't face any major delay.

 

I am not really drawn to Lion Air. My colleagues hate Lion Air due to the REALLY tight seat pitch. 28" or 29" I think. Seats literally has no cushion at all. It was a torturous two hours flight from Jakarta.

 

I wonder how does the involvement of NADI will contribute to low cost base? Maintenance?

 

With a MRO background company as their partner and strict rules from DCA, I trust that safety would not be compromised in ours' skies...as for the blacklist from EU, believe many Indonesian airlines still pending for removal....for seat pitch and comforts issues, believe customers would judges for their own liking after trying it out...

 

Something from Reuters:

 

(Reuters) - Indonesia's Lion Air will set up a new low-cost airline based in Malaysia, it said on Tuesday, a challenge to dominant budget carrier AirAsia Bhd as Southeast Asia's growing middle class fuels demand for cheap flights.

 

The new carrier, Malindo Airways, will begin flights between Indonesia and Malaysia next May with a fleet of 12 Boeing 727 aircraft (NB: 737) which it plans to expand to 100 planes within a decade, Lion Air President Rusdi Kirana told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

 

The move is the latest in a burgeoning rivalry between Lion Air and Malaysia-based AirAsia as strong economic growth and rising incomes spur rapid passenger growth among Asian low-cost carriers, helping to shield Western planemakers from the malaise gripping developed economies.

 

"Malindo is an opportunity to tap a robust market that is right for the entry of a new low-cost carrier," Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the launch event.

 

AirAsia (AIRA.KL) has made inroads into Lion Air's home market, announcing in July it would make its first major acquisition by buying Indonesia's Batavia Air.

AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes said in May his group was looking to list its Indonesian operations by the first quarter of next year as it moves its regional base to Indonesia.

 

In contrast with other budget carriers, Malindo Airways will have in-flight entertainment, extra legroom and free light meals, as well as low fares, Kirana said. Its hub will be Malaysia's new budget terminal, KLIA 2, which is currently under construction.

 

"I should be selling at what AirAsia is selling, or I may sell lower," Kirana told reporters, referring to ticket prices. He did not say how much Lion Air was investing in the new carrier.

 

Lion Air has a 49 percent stake in the airline, a joint venture with Malaysia's privately held National Aerospace & Defense Industries Sdn Bhd, which holds the majority 51 percent.

 

Despite Asia's increasingly crowded budget carrier field, Kirana said there was still a need for "two or three more airlines with specific business models" by 2013.

The two firms' rivalry is also part of a battle between dominant manufacturers Boeing (BA.N) and Europe's Airbus (EAD.PA), which are favoured by Lion and AirAsia respectively.

 

Lion Air ordered 230 Boeing short-haul jets worth $22 billion last November to take its total orderbook to more than 400 planes. Sources told Reuters last week that AirAsia is close to a deal to buy up to 100 Airbus jets, closely on the heels of its record order for 200 last year.

 

(Writing by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

 

Sources: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/11/uk-lionair-malaysia-idUSLNE88A00W20120911

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Malindo ?

Those who are proficient in the Chinese Hakka dialect will be permitted a few chuckles I reckon :p

 

Malinfan (very troublesome).

 

Was at the launch at Golden Horses earlier, ambitious but very vague and non-committal when it came to Q&As. They will only start on 1 May, klia2 completion pending and all, and will use klia2 as their hub to the region and East Asia, with BKI touted as their secondary hub.

 

At the moment BKI only have direct flight to Indonesia's CGK, unless they intend to tap into the Philippines.

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Some more links:

 

1. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444426404577644851545448774.html

2. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-11/lion-air-challenges-airasia-with-malaysian-low-cost-carrier

3. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/1225358/1/.html

 

Malindo ?

Those who are proficient in the Chinese Hakka dialect will be permitted a few chuckles I reckon :p

 

Anyway, the name really sounds awful...

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According to Lion Air's chief and the slides, they are aiming at routes on short haul, under 4 hours, with a hybrid product. Malindo Airways will be a hybrid carrier, low cost value carrier with premium and economy seating, plus infight entertainment and refreshments. Doesn't sound like a normal low cost carrier when there's food included in the fare, especially when compared to Air Asia where you purchase it on board.

 

The four areas where they will collaborate are:

 

Airline - with Lion Air's managing rights for 10 +5 years.

MRO - technical agreement for fleet management

Supply Chain - assets management excluding aircraft

Manpower - training and supply (Lion Air's academy?)

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Malindo Airways Will Not Pose Threat To Airasia, Says Fernandes

By Prem Kumar Panjamorthy

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama) -- AirAsia Chief Executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has welcomed the new low-cost airline in Malaysia, Malindo Airways, but dismissed that the new budget carrier will be a potential threat to AirAsia Bhd, Asia's largest frills-free airline.

 

He said the formation of Malindo Airways clearly indicated the growing importance of budget carriers in the global aviation industry, particularly in Malaysia and in the Asean region, in tandem with the Asean Open Skies Policy, which will come into force in 2015.

 

"I welcome Malindo Airways' establishment. AirAsia had always wanted Asean to be opened up. This is a good step," he told Bernama.

 

Fernandes quashed claims that Malindo Airways would force AirAsia to bow to pressure due to the keen competition in Indonesia.

 

He said neither the airline nor the joint-venture partners of Malindo Airways posed any threat to AirAsia's vast airline network in the Asian region.

 

"The new airline is not an issue for us in AirAsia. We have competed in a country like Malaysia which has a strong airline such as the Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

 

"We also have in hand a strong team for AirAsia, AirAsia X and AirAsia Indonesia. I am proud of what we have and we will continue to grow.

 

"We are building a global brand and I don't think that something like this (the new airline) will slow us down," added Fernandes, who is now based in Jakarta, overseeing AirAsia's Asean region operations.

 

AirAsia Malaysia is now headed by Aireen Omar.

 

National Aerospace and Defence Industries Sdn Bhd (NADI) and PT Lion Grup today signed a joint-venture agreement to form Malindo Airways which will begin operations on May 1 at KLIA2 in Sepang.

 

The signing was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

 

The budget carrier will take off with a fleet of 12 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft to destinations between big cities in Malaysia and Indonesia before expanding to other Asian countries.

 

Malindo Airways is considering offering low fares, even lower than AirAsia, in addition to the in-flight entertainment systems and in-flight connectivity in all of its aircraft.

 

So this is going to be a GLC airlines industry?

Well maybe the govt. has finally decided not to put all its eggs into the MH basket.

Edited by flee

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A few MH B737NG crew were seconded to Lion earlier this year, and yesterday a few of them were at the launch. This is from a FB posting of one of the pilots involved.

 

Anyway, having another airline operating Boeing aircraft, especially the B787, based here in KUL, just opens up more possibilities and options.

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i am more excited about the B787 than the LCC competition. Surely it's head to head with AirAsia Group on some routes but at least now we can have a choice.

Yes, me too - good to see a B787 operator use KUL as its home. However, the order has not yet been finalised and we do not even have a delivery date. So it may be a long wait...

Edited by flee

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Yes, me too - good to see a B787 operator use KUL as its home. However, the order has not yet been finalised and we do not even have a delivery date. So it may be a long wait...

Yeap, good to see more variety of aircraft at KLIA. The initial batch of B787 has been finalised. Lion Air is getting the first five B787 of production line which are overweight. ANA, Air India, Continental and Ethiopian Airlines rejected such aircraft. Transaero Airlines is also getting some overweight B787 as well.

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1 of the MOU they had signed is about human capital development.. Anybody knows in details what they are about? I'm concern about the long term flight crew of course..

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Nadi, Lion Air JV to propel MRO, talent sectors in line with ETP

 

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The joint venture agreements between National Aerospace & Defence Industries Sdn Bhd (Nadi) and PT Lion Grup Indonesia (Lion Air) will spur the local economy further in line with the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

The two companies yesterday signed four joint venture agreements in Kuala Lumpur, one of which will form a new airlines, Malindo Airways, in Malaysia by May next year.

The second agreement will see Lion Air and Nadi collaborating to create a joint venture company into maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).

This MRO company will be a service provider to the entire fleet of 730 aircraft of Lion Air.

This service is under plans to be extended to third party aircraft operators.

The third joint venture is a partnership between Nadi Lion Air to embark in setting up a training school to train pilots, in-flight crew and technical personnel for Lion Air as well as for third parties – filling a much-needed void for talent in the country.

In fact, Boeing once highlighted that the Asian-Pacific region would need 185,600 pilots and 243,500 technicians by the year 2030.

The fourth joint venture is to propose the setting up of a supply chain management company to manage the lease and sale of aircraft parts and components to both Lion Air and third parties.

“The smart partnership formalised today will witness the synergies of resources and expertise between a long-standing and reputable aviation MRO player and the operator of one of the biggest low cost carriers (LCCs) in the region,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak during the signing ceremony yesterday.

“Nadi and its subsidiary Airod Sdn Bhd as we know, are well-respected entities in the region’s MRO industry, whereas Lion Air has a fleet of more than a hundred aircraft in operation and hundreds more on order, including the new Boeing 787-Dreamliners,” he stressed.

“It is the kind of innovative and mutually beneficial collaboration that is necessary for survival in the increasingly-competitive aviation business, and greatly required in a global economic environment that is often turbulent and volatile.” To recap, the ETP has introduced several initiatives to further bolster the Malaysian aerospace industry by identifying two Entry Point Projects (EPPs) – namely EPP1: Growing MRO Services and EPP2: Growing Large Pure Play Engineering Services.

By the end of 2020, these two initiatives are expected to contribute RM16.9 billion to Malaysia’s Gross National Income (GNI) and create over 32,000 jobs in the sector.

“With significant experience in airline operations, MRO services, supply chain management and human capital development, Nadi and Lion Air will not only be able to provide quality services to their customers in the region by also to the global aviation industry,” added Najib.

“Furthermore, the partnership will provide the regional low-cost air travel market with healthy competition ultimately benefitting low-cost travellers in both countries.

This will also fortify the aviation business ecosystem in Malaysia and Indonesia,” he concluded.

 

 

Read more: http://www.theborneo.../#ixzz26DkKGJe4

 

I wonder where are they gonna set that up. Maybe take over the busted GGIFA at Bintulu.

Edited by alberttky

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Yeap, good to see more variety of aircraft at KLIA. The initial batch of B787 has been finalised. Lion Air is getting the first five B787 of production line which are overweight. ANA, Air India, Continental and Ethiopian Airlines rejected such aircraft. Transaero Airlines is also getting some overweight B787 as well.

 

Any idea how much the figure differs from intended weight? Are the aircraft in the production line now? Thought they solved the overweight problems by delaying the delivery to trim down the aircraft

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Yeap, good to see more variety of aircraft at KLIA. The initial batch of B787 has been finalised. Lion Air is getting the first five B787 of production line which are overweight. ANA, Air India, Continental and Ethiopian Airlines rejected such aircraft. Transaero Airlines is also getting some overweight B787 as well.

These early frames will have to undergo change incorporation - so the rework may take some time. Maybe 2016 delivery?

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