Indonesian carrier Lion Air has taken delivery of the primary Airbus A330-900neo, making it the primary carrier within the Asia-Pacific region to fly this aircraft, the Business Traveler online portal reported.
According to Airbus, the Lion Air A330-900neo can accommodate 436 passengers in a single-class configuration. It will likely be used to operate direct long-haul flights from Indonesia, including pilgrimage flights from domestic cities similar to Makassar, Balikpapan and Surabaya to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Flight time on these routes might be as much as 12 hours.
The aircraft is leased from BOC Aviation, a Singapore-based leasing company. This is the primary of ten A330-900 aircraft leased by the Indonesian carrier.
Lion Air currently flies to 36 destinations, including 4 international ones: Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Ho Chi Minh City.
Delta’s recent A330-900neo aircraft made its first industrial flight on July 10 from Seattle to Shanghai. The US carrier’s A330-900neo is provided with all 4 “Delta seat experiences”, including the Delta One Suite. Delta will even use the aircraft on its Seattle-Seoul Incheon and Seattle-Tokyo Narita routes.
Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia also ordered 14 A330-900neo aircraft in 2016.
Source: Business Traveler
