Indonesia’s Batik Air goes international

Jakarta-based carrier, Batik Air, has unveiled plans to enter the international arena, as part of a major expansion of its operations in 2014.

The airline, which is a subsidiary of Lion Air, will increase its fleet to 16 aircraft this year, and will use this extra capacity to launch 12 new Indonesian routes and its first ever international destination: Singapore.

“Our first international destination will be Singapore and we aim to have more than a daily service on the route from Jakarta,” said Batik Air’s CEO, Capt Achmad Luthfie. “We chose Singapore as our first international destination because we can see that demand on the route continues to increase.”

The airline also plans to more than double its domestic network this year, from 10 to 22 destinations. The new Indonesian routes will see Batik fly from Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Banjarmasin, Batam, Gorontalo, Kendari, Medan, Padang, Palembang, Palu, Timika, Tarakan and Solo. It will resume services on the Jakarta-Bali route.

Looking ahead, Batik now plans to launch flights to a further five domestic destinations in 2015, although it said some of these routes “will be dependent upon the airport runways being extended” to accommodate the airline’s jet aircraft.

Batik Air currently operates six Boeing 737-900ER aircraft configured with 180 seats – 12 in business class and 168 in economy.

But this year, the airline will start taking delivery of its new fleet of Airbus A320s. The first 158-seat, two-class A320s will arrive in July 2014, with a further six expected to be delivered before the end of the year. Batik will also receive four B737-800s the second half of this year, featuring 162 seats in two classes.

All of Batik’s aircraft will come equipped with seat-back in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems and a full meal service.

Launched in 2013, Batik is part of the fast-expanding Lion Air group, which has outstanding orders for more than 500 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.