 |
| Malindo Air Logo |
Waisai, 999-logo.blogspot.com - Malindo Air is an airline based in Malaysia, headquartered in Petaling Jaya. It is a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI) (51%) of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia (49%). The name Malindo is derived from the names of respective countries: Malaysia and Indonesia. Malindo Air initially planned to start operation on 1 May 2013 from the new KLIA2 terminal. However, Malindo Air brought forward the launch date to mid-March 2013 with domestic destinations.
The entry of AirAsia from Malaysia in the home turf of Lion Air has encouraged the Indonesian airline to enter the Malaysian market with a subsidiary airline. AirAsia's subsidiary Indonesia AirAsia, in partnership with its parent firm, attempted to buy Indonesian carrier Batavia Air to gain a foothold in Indonesia, but the deal did not go through due to regulatory complications and Batavia Air ended up going bankrupt. The attempted deal resulted in a turf war between Lion Air, Indonesia's biggest low-cost carrier, and AirAsia, Asia's biggest low-cost carrier.
Mr Chandran Ramamurthy, personal assistant executive to the president director of Lion Air, has been appointed as CEO of Malindo Air. The airline's inaugural flights began operations on 22 March 2013.
For its jet routes, Malindo Air provides a personal TV (in-flight entertainment system) in every seat, light snacks and free meal, seat pitches of 32" and 45" for economy class and business class respectively, and free baggage allowances of 15 kg & 40 kg (for domestic flights) while 20 kg or 30 kg & 40 kg (for international flights). Furthermore, Wi-Fi service will be available from June 2013 onwards.The combination of the amenities, services and low cost fares puts Malindo Air in the category of hybrid airline.
The IFE is based on Panasonic eXLite with 9 inch touchscreens in Economy class and 11.1 inch touchscreens in Business Class, capable of gestures (swiping, scrolling). Full meals are served in Business class.
According to Malindo Air, a total of 50,000 passengers had flown with the airline as of 9 May 2013.
The airline also has expanded on a parallel turboprop service, focusing mainly on secondary routes within a 2-hour radius from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. Pioneer destinations include Penang, Johor Bahru and Kota Bharu, the flights have commenced in early June 2013.
Source : WIkipedia, brandsoftheworld.com