Indian carriers are under renewed pressure to raise cash or face the risk of having to downsize, consolidate or have their planes repossessed by lessors as a surge of Covid-19 infections roils travel. Passenger traffic fell nearly 30 per cent in April from a month before and has halved again so far in May, forcing even the country s biggest and most cashed-up carrier, IndiGo, to gear up for the storm. IndiGo s parent, Interglobe Aviation, will meet on Friday to consider an equity raising, just months after it abandoned plans to raise up to 40 billion rupees ($543 million) in January due to a speedy recovery in travel.
Indonesia’s new airline Super Air Jet bets on millennials and post-coronavirus travel bounce Super Air Jet, Indonesia’s newest airline, will initially operate Airbus A320s. Photo: Handout
With flight attendants dressed in khaki-coloured tracksuits and a catchy name, Indonesia s new low cost carrier Super Air Jet is betting on demand from tech-savvy millennials in the world s sixth largest aviation market when travel can resume after the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is the first new airline to launch in 10 years in Southeast Asia s largest economy, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.
But first, it is making clear that it has no links to the country s largest airline in terms of passenger numbers, Lion Air. This even though one of the new carrier s shareholders is reportedly Rusdi Kirana, co-founder of Lion Air Group and Indonesia s former ambassador to Malaysia. Super Air Jet s CEO Ari Azhari is also a former general manager at Lion Air Group.
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Search A handout photo shows the new Indonesian budget airline Super Air Jet s livery and air crew members in the airline s uniform. (Photo courtesy of Super Air Jet) Super Air Jet Sets Up Wider Post-Pandemic Moat for Rusdi Kirana s Empire BY :HERMAN, THRESA SANDRA DESFIKA, DION BISARA MAY 05, 2021
Jakarta. New budget airline Super Air Jet s surprise attempt to break into the country s limping air-travel industry would only ensure Lion Air s founder Rusdi Kirana s dominance in the country s post-pandemic travel, providing the billionaire with a wider moat to dissuade aspiring entrants to the market.
The airline would be the Southeast Asia country s first new airline in the past ten years, which saw the domestic airline industry consolidating into a duopoly: Lion Air Group in the budget segment and flagship-carrier Garuda Indonesia and full-service segment.
In association with Singapore Airshow, Sponsored by Embraer
Thursday 20 May 2021, 9am BST / 4pm SGT
The pandemic has had a devastating impact on air transport networks in Asia-Pacific, both regional and long-haul. As vaccine programmes roll-out and passengers return to the skies, what will the new landscape look like? Will short-haul be the quickest to return? What is the future of low-cost and business travel? How can intercontinental hub carriers rebuild? Hear from our expert panel representing airlines, airports and the wider industry.
Speakers
Raul Villaron, VP Sales & Marketing for Asia Pac, Embraer
Raul Villaron is an energetic, customer focused executive with 15 years of experience in Aviation, supporting airlines to design, develop and implement strategies to deliver the highest return on investment to its investors