A JOINT venture agreement between Malaysia’s National Aerospace & Defence Industries and Indonesia’s Lion Group was signed this afternoon, marking the start of the formation of a new Malaysia-registered low-cost carrier.
Named Malindo Airways, the LCC will begin operations in May 2013, and will have its hub in Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, which is also slated to open next year.
Although routes have not been confirmed, Lion Air president director, Rusdi Kirana, said Malindo Airways would fly to South-east Asia, South Asia, East Asia and within Malaysia.
Kirana added: “The airline will be positioned as a low cost carrier; pricing will be lower than AirAsia’s fares. Its differentiating features are comfort through a seat pitch of 31 inches, and the provision of inflight entertainment and Wi-Fi access.”
The airline will operate on Boeing 737 aircraft initially, and Kirana said Boeing 787 Dreamliners would be introduced to the fleet in 2015.
Malindo Airways will receive 12 aircraft a year, over the next 10 years.
