Malindo Air is an airline based in Malaysia. It is a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI) (51%) of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia (49%). The name "Malindo" came from the names of respective countries: Malaysia and Indonesia. Malindo Air planned to start operation on 1 May 2013 from the new KLIA2 terminal initially. However, Malindo Air has brought forward the launch date to mid-March 2013 with domestic destinations. The airline only operates Economy and Business class.
Background
The entry of AirAsia from Malaysia in the home turf of Lion Air has encouraged the Indonesian airline to enter 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 foothold in the Indonesian market, but the deal didn't go through due to regulatory complications and Batavia Air ended up going bankrupt. The attempted deal resulted in turf war between Lion Air, Indonesia's biggest low-cost carrier, and AirAsia, Asia's biggest low-cost carrier. Mr Chandran Ramamuthy, personal assistant executive to the president director of Lion Air, has been appointed as CEO of Malindo Air. The airline inaugural flights will be operational from 22 March. Malindo Air will provide 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 allowance of 15 kg & 30 kg. Furthermore, wifi service will be available from June onwards. Combination of these with low cost fares makes Malindo Air known as a hybrid airline. According to Malindo Air, a total of 50,000 passengers has flown with the airline as of 9 May 2013.
SWOT analysis for Malindo Airline Strengths | * Low-cost * Brand new plane * They have in-flight entertainment * | Weakness | * New in the market * | Opportunities | *