LION Group is making Batam its second major hub for operations with plans to launch more domestic and international services from the island.
Announcing this in a press release yesterday, the group said it has increased the number of Lion Air domestic services based out of Batam to 15 in recent months and will raise it to 20 in future.
Upcoming launches include a daily service between Batam and Pontianak beginning January 29, and Batam-Makassar and Batam-Bali (Denpasar) services.
Said Lion Group president director Rusdi Kirana: “Batam is ideally located for people wishing to travel between eastern and western Indonesia.”
He added: “This is a win-win (situation) for consumers and for the airline. The shorter flying time makes flying more convenient for passengers and it means aircraft burn less fuel, leading to significant cost savings.”
Lion Air is also eyeing destinations such as Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Jeddah, New Delhi and Mumbai for overseas services.
Rusdi pointed out that transiting in Batam requires less time than transiting in Indonesia for those travelling within Indonesia and from India. Developing Batam as a hub would also aid the congestion situation at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Furthermore, the group has been building up an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility on the island that it wants certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency.
“Some airlines are sending their aircraft overseas for heavy maintenance checks. But it costs money to ferry empty aircraft overseas and doing heavy checks is very labour-intensive work. Therefore, it makes more sense for this work to be done in Indonesia,” said Rusdi.
Bloomberg has reported that Lion Air is looking to list shares by 2015 in order to fund its ambitious fleet expansion programme.
