MALAYSIA-based LCC Malindo Air has brought forward its commencement date to mid-March 2013, two months earlier than its original scheduled date in May 2013.
Said Malindo Air CEO, Chandran Ramamuthy: “The airline will operate out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as the LCC Terminal is too congested. (KLIA) is also the point where Lion Air flies to.”
He added that Malindo Air would later move its base to KLIA2, which is currently under construction and slated to open on May 1, 2013.
Initial flights will connect East and West Malaysia but Chandran declined to confirm whether the East Malaysian points would be Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. He also revealed that Malindo Air’s first international route will begin in either April or May to India, and is targeting a fleet of 12 B737-900ER by December 2013.
Malindo Air will commence operations with two B737-900ER aircraft in a two-class configuration (12 business seats and 168 economy seats), and will be equipped with Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment.
Malindo Air is operated by Malindo Airways, a joint venture between Indonesian’s Lion Group and Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries.
According to a report by The Star, Lion Group chief Rusdi Kirana said that the launch of its subsidiary, Batik Air, would be delayed from March 2013 to end-2013 so as to focus on building Malindo Air to become a regional player sooner.
