LION Air Group has pushed back the launch of subsidiary Batik Air to April 22, in order to focus on managing the fallout from the Bali crash.
Meant to compete head on with Garuda Indonesia, the full-service carrier was supposed to be unveiled yesterday with a Boeing 737-900ER at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
In the meantime, Lion Air has pledged to compensate passengers for baggage lost in the Bali accident, up to a maximum of Rp4 million (US$412) per passenger, as stipulated by Indonesian laws on delay, loss baggage and accident insurance payment.
In addition, Lion Air will pay Rp600,000 per passenger for the three-day wait in Bali for an onward connection, according to the airline’s Bali airport service director, Daniel Putut.
Indonesia’s travel consultants earlier said they did not expect the Bali accident to dent Lion Air’s bookings in a major way, given the airline’s affordable fares and extensive route network (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 16, 2013).
