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 A Lion AirBoeing 737-900ER | |||||||
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| Founded | 15 November 1999; 26 years ago (1999-11-15) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 30 June 2000; 25 years ago (2000-06-30) | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Fleet size | 99 | ||||||
| Destinations | 47[1] | ||||||
| Parent company | Lion Air Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Lion Air Tower, Jalan KH. Hasyim Ashari,Jakarta,Indonesia | ||||||
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| Website | www | ||||||
Lion Air is an Indonesianlow-cost airline based inJakarta. Lion Air is the country's largest privately run airline, the second largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia (afterAirAsia) and the largest airline in Indonesia. WithWings Air,Super Air Jet andBatik Air, Lion Group is the country's largest airline group. The airline operates domestic as well as international routes, which connects different destinations of Indonesia to Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, India, Japan and Saudi Arabia,[2] as well as charter routes tomainland China,Hong Kong,South Korea andMacau, with more than 630 flights per day.[3][4]
The airline has repeatedly broken records for largest aircraft orders, such as its $24 billion order for 234Airbus A320 jets.[2] The airline's 2011 order of 230Boeing 737 for $21.7 billion was the largest aircraft order received byBoeing at the time, and the agreement signing was witnessed byPresident of the United States,Barack Obama.[5]
The airline signed an agreement with US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing for fifty737 MAX 10 passenger jets worth $6.24 billion in June 2017. The airline is Boeing's second-largest customer (after US-basedSouthwest Airlines).[6] It had once been criticised for poor operational management in areas such as scheduling and safety, although steps have been taken to improve its safety: on 16 June 2016, theEuropean Union lifted the ban it had placed on Lion Air fromflying into European airspace.[7] In June 2018 it attained a positive safety rating following anICAO audit.[8][9]
The airline was established in October 1999 byRusdi and Kusnan Kirana and started operations on 30 June 2000, when it began scheduled passenger services fromJakarta toDenpasar andPontianak using a leasedBoeing 737-200. It was the first low-cost airline in Indonesia. The fleet was quickly expanded with thewet-lease of fiveYakovlev Yak-42Ds, twoMcDonnell Douglas MD-82s and two sub-leasedAirbus A310-300s. Rapid growth enabled modernisation of the fleet with Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-400 aircraft. In 2003, a subsidiary airline was established,Wings Air, operating flights on lower density routes. Further subsidiaries were developed includingMalindo Air in Malaysia in 2012,Thai Lion Air in Thailand in 2013 and domestically,Batik Air, a full-service subsidiary, also in 2013.[10]
The airline is planning to join theInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) and therefore hoping to become the second IATA Indonesian member carrier afterGaruda Indonesia. Lion Air failed, in early 2011, the initial IATA assessments for membership due to safety concerns. Lion Air and Boeing pioneered the use ofrequired navigation performance (RNP) procedures in Indonesia, having successfully performed validation flights at the two terrain-challenged airports of Ambon and Manado.[11]
From 19 July 2011, Lion Air grounded 13 aircraft due to sanctions caused by badon-time performance (OTP). The transportation ministry recorded that Lion Air's OTP of 66.45 percent was the worst of six airlines in an assessment conducted from January to April 2011 at 24 airports nationwide.[12][13] On the other hand, airlines using Jakarta airport faced considerable delays to their schedules due to runway congestion.[14]
On 18 November 2011, the airline jointly announced with Boeing a record-setting order of 201Boeing 737 MAX and 29Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, setting the record for the world's biggest single order of 230 aircraft for a commercial airline worth $21.7 billion.[15]
In January 2012, the Transportation Ministry said that it had sanctioned Lion Air because some of its pilots and crew members were found in recent months to be in possession of crystalmethamphetamine. In late 2011, Muhammad Nasri and two other co-pilots were arrested at a party inTangerang; in early 2012 a pilot was caught with crystal meth inMakassar.[16]On 4 February 2012, another Lion Air pilot was arrested following a positive urinalysis test for use of methamphetamine; he was scheduled to fly theSurabaya-Makassar-Balikpapan-Surabaya flight hours later.[17] The licenses of the pilots and crew were revoked.[18]
On 18 March 2013, Lion Air signed a contract to purchase 234Airbus aircraft worth US$24 billion inFrance and witnessed directly by French PresidentFrançois Hollande. The ordered aircraft are types ofA320 andA321.[19]
Lion Air established a full service airline with the nameBatik Air, which started operating in 2013 using 737-900ER. Lion Air also signed a commitment with Boeing to order fiveBoeing 787 Dreamliner for this airline, and this made Lion Air the first Indonesian airline to order this type sinceGaruda Indonesia canceled its order for the 10 Dreamliners in 2010, and is expected to be sent in 2015.[20] The airline has also considered ordering wide-body aircraftAirbus A330, but chose to buy 787's.[21]
On 31 July 2015, Lion Air officially leftINACA due to a mismatch[further explanation needed] with other members.[22]
In June 2016, Lion Group was removed from the list ofblacklisted airlines to fly into the EU.[23]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, Lion Group suspended operations until 1 June. It suspended operations again on 5 June after finding few passengers could provide documents proving they were virus-free and have a business reason or family emergency requiring travel.[24] In July 2020, Lion Group announced that the airline will lay off 2,600 contract workers as demand continues to sharply decline.[25]
Lion Air’s loyalty scheme is centered on CabinClub, a platform-driven rewards program that emphasizes booking activity and transactional benefits rather than conventional frequent flyer miles or tier status.[26]
As of June 2025[update], Lion Air flies (or has flown) to the following destinations:[1]
Lion Air hascodeshare agreements andinterline agreements with the following airlines:[27]
TheBoeing customer code for Lion Air is GP, which appears in the designation of its older Boeing aircraft as an infix, such as 737-8GP and 737-9GPER.
As of August 2025[update], Lion Air operates the following aircraft:[30]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-300 | 3 | — | 440 | ||
| 2 | 436 | ||||
| Airbus A330-900 | 8 | — | 436[31] | ||
| Boeing 737-800 | 23 | — | 189 | ||
| Boeing 737-900ER | 58 | — | 215 | Launch customer. 2 Aircraft are fromSriwijaya Air. | |
| 1 | 213 | ||||
| Boeing 737 MAX 9 | 4 | 187 | 221 | Order consisted of both the MAX 8 and 9 variants. Launch customer for the MAX 9 variant. All of Lion Air's MAX 8s have been transferred toBatik Air Malaysia.[citation needed] | |
| Boeing 737 MAX 10 | — | 50[32] | TBA | ||
| Total | 99 | 237 | |||
Lion Air was the launch customer for the largest variant of theBoeing 737, the737-900ER, for which it placed an order in 2005. On the 2005 Paris Air Show, Lion Air signed a preliminary agreement with Boeing for the purchase of up to 60Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft, valued at $3.9 billion at list prices. Lion Air confirmed their order in July 2005 and became the launch customer for theBoeing 737-900ER with firm orders for 30 aircraft andoptions for 30 more, which were later converted into firm orders. The -900ER can carry up to 215 passengers in a single-class layout, and is powered byCFM56-7B turbofan engines. On 27 April 2007, Boeing delivered the first 737-900ER to Lion Air. The aircraft was delivered in a special dual-paint scheme that combines Lion Air's logo on itsvertical stabilizer and the Boeing "Dreamliner" livery on the fuselage.
Lion Air set a world record when it placed an order for 230 aircraft from Boeing, making this the largest order in terms of aircraft ordered as well the cost of the order. In November 2011, Lion Air and Boeing announced that the airline planned to buy 29 additionalBoeing 737 Next Generation and 201Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, with options for 150 more, valued at $21.7 billion at the time.[15] A firm order was signed on 14 February 2012, with the 737 MAX aircraft identified as 737 MAX 9s, making Lion Air the launch customer for that variant.[33] By the time of the signing, the order's value had risen to $22.4 billion at list prices, the largest aircraft order in history.[33] Additionally, the engines for the -900ERs, CFM 56-7s, cost about $580 million and the engines for the MAXs,CFM LEAP-1Bs, cost about $4.8 billion.[33] Deliveries of the additional NGs were to start in 2014, with the MAXs to follow in 2017.[33]
On Monday, 18 March 2013, Lion Air placed an order for 234 Airbus A320 jets withAirbus, the largest single order ever made, surpassing the previous record by Boeing ($22.4 Billion). The contract, which was signed at theElysée Palace in the presence of PresidentFrançois Hollande and several government ministers, was worth €18.4 billion ($24 billion) at catalogue prices, the French president said.[34]
In April 2018, Lion Air Group placed an order for 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets, valued at a list price of $6.24 billion.[35]
However, following the crash ofFlight 610 in October 2018, Lion Air announced that all Boeing orders would likely be cancelled.[36] The statement was further reinforced following the crash ofEthiopian Airlines Flight 302, which eventually led to the worldwidegrounding of all 737 MAX aircraft currently in service. In the days that followed after Flight 302's crash, Bloomberg News reported that Lion Air was evaluating options from Airbus, having already refused to take delivery of a 737 MAX that was going to be delivered in March 2019.[37]
The airline received its first of 10Airbus A330-900 aircraft on 19 July 2019, becoming the first Asia/Pacific operator of the type.[38]
In the past, Lion Air has previously operated the following aircraft:
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| Aircraft | Total | Operated | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A310-300 | 1 | 2000 | 2003 | |
| Boeing 737-200 | 2 | 2001 | 2003 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 2 | 2006 | 2014 | |
| Boeing 737-400 | 10 | 2004 | 2014 | |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 15 | 2017 | 2022 | PK-LQP crashed asFlight 610. Remaining aircraft will be transferred toBatik Air Malaysia. |
| Boeing 747-400[39] | 2 | 2009 | 2019 | Replaced byAirbus A330-900. PK-LHF is preserved as theSteak 21 Restaurant in Bekasi, while PK-LHG wasscrapped. |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 17 | 2002 | 2012 | One crashed asFlight 538. |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1 | 2003 | 2008 | |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 | 5 | 2005 | 2012 | |
| Yakovlev Yak-42 | 5 | 2001 | 2002 |
In the 2000s Lion Air began to grow and became a serious rival for the flag carrierGaruda Indonesia in domestic air travel in Indonesia. By mid 2015, Lion Air led Indonesia's domestic air travel market with 41.6 percent share, whileGaruda Indonesia came in second with 23.5 percent share.Sriwijaya Air came in third with a market share of 10.4 percent, followed by Garuda's low-cost subsidiaryCitilink (8.9 percent) and Lion Air's regional flight serviceWings Air (4.7 percent).Indonesia AirAsia, a unit of Malaysian budget airlineAirAsia, had a 4.4 percent market share.[40]
Overall, Indonesian domestic air travel business is overwhelmingly ruled by two airline groups; Lion Air Group and Garuda Indonesia. By mid 2015, Lion Air Group accounted for 43.17 percent of market share, while Garuda Indonesia had 37.08 percent of market share.[41]
From 2005 to 2017, the domestic market share of Lion Air Group increased by more than 100%, from 25% to 51%, while Garuda Indonesia's increased from 24% to 33%;[42] their international market share in 2017 was 21% and 39% respectively, while Indonesia AirAsia / Indonesia AirAsia X had 36% of the international market.[43]
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