Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd is a Malaysian hybrid-full service carrier owned by Indonesian Lion Air Group with headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. The name Malindo signifies a cooperative pact between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Background
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 Rama Muthy, 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 every seat, light snacks and free meal, seat pitches of 402" and 605" for economy class and business class respectively, and free baggage allowances of 40 kg for Business passengers and either 20 kg or 30 kg for Economy class passengers depending on their ticket category. Economy passengers on flights to Shah Amanat International Airport and Shahjalal International Airport in Bangladesh receive a 35 kg baggage allowance. However the airline's very cheapest Economy class tickets do not receive a free baggage allowance. In June 2015, Malindo became the first Malaysian airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi service. 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. Full meals are served in Business class. 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. In early 2017, the airline is expected to re-brand Malindo Air to "Batik Air Malaysia" which will focus on international routes while its associate airline, Batik Air serves domestic routes in Indonesia. The airline has begun to feature the Batik Air Malaysia logo and livery on its aircraft gradually. In 2016 Malindo initiated interline agreements with Turkish Airlines, and Qatar Airways. In April 2017, Malindo Air received its International Air Transport Association certificate as IATA member. The airline has also successfully retained its IOSA registration, which is valid from 3 June 2018 to 3 June 2020. In an official press release issued by Malindo dated 26 August 2019, Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri, Director of Safety, Security & Quality of Thai Lion Air has been announced as the new CEO, replacing the current CEO effective 23 September 2019, while Chandra Rama Muthy to be appointed as Group Strategy Director, Lion Group.
Destinations
Malindo Air operates over 800 flights weekly across 57 routes in Malaysia and across the continents of Asia and Australia.
Codeshare agreements
Malindo Air codeshares with the following airlines:
Batik Air
Turkish Airlines
Interline agreements
Malindo Air have Interline agreements with the following airlines:
, the Malindo Air fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Incidents and accidents
19 April 2018 – A Malindo Air Boeing 737-900ER flying from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur overran the runway at Kathmandu after a high-speed rejected takeoff. The aircraft came to a stop in the grass 250 feet past the runway end. All 132 passengers and seven crew members escaped injury. Damage to the aircraft was minor and the airport was closed for 12 hours for it to be moved. The flight crew opted to abort the takeoff because of a warning indicating the aircraft was not correctly configured.
