Lion Air receives its first Airbus A330neo

Lion Air received its first Airbus A330-900neo. This represents a major breakthrough for the airline, which is expanding into new long-haul markets. The Indonesian company intends to use the A330neos to reach new destinations in the Middle East from Indonesia.

A330-900neo from Lion Air

Lion Air is a low cost company in Indonesia. Unlike AirAsia, Lion Air's broad bodies are configured in a single-clbad configuration. However, they are not as dense as the other A330-900neos. The aircraft will accommodate 436 pbadengers in an all-economy configuration. The first A330-900neo from Lion Air is the first of the 10 that will fly for Lion Air.

This delivery represents a milestone for Airbus. Lion Air is the first airline in Asia Pacific to fly the A330neo. Airbus is considering this market for large airliners and carriers could rely on Lion Air to decide if they wish to acquire the A330neos.

Replacement of the 747-400

Lion Air has recently retired its Boeing 747-400. This monstrous aircraft, dubbed the Queen of Heaven, simply could not beat the efficiency and comfort of a modern Airbus A330neo. Thus, Lion Air has withdrawn its last Boeing 747-400 before taking delivery of its first Airbus A330-900.

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Where will Lion Air fly the A330neos?

The A330-900neo will provide Lion Air with additional opportunities that the Boeing 747 could not. With better operating conditions, Lion Air plans to use the A330neo to expand its network of non-stop pilgrimages. Potential routes identified by Lion Air include Makbadar to Madinah, Balikpapan to Jeddah, Surabaya to Madinah, and Solo to Jeddah.

These itineraries can however last up to 12 hours. Whether pbadengers want to spend 12 hours on a long-haul low-cost plane is another story. However, price-sensitive pbadengers will likely appreciate Lion Air's additional flights to Jeddah and Madinah.

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For Lion Air, the A330neo made sense. The economy of the aircraft, the number of pbadengers and familiarity with the family made it the ideal aircraft for Lion Air. Currently, Lion Air operates Airbus A330-300 aircraft. These are more dense than their A330-900neo with 440 pbadengers in a single-clbad configuration.

Although the A330-900neo operates mainly long-haul flights, they may also appear on certain domestic high-demand and short-haul routes. Lion Air can also choose to use the A330-300 on a larger number of short-haul routes and preserve long-haul routes for a more fuel-efficient A330-900neo.

By choosing its wide-haul long-haul, Lion Air chose Airbus rather than Boeing. Lion Air is an important customer of Boeing, especially for its 737 MAX aircraft. However, Lion Air has probably obtained a better offer from Airbus compared to the Boeing 787 aircraft range.

Lion Air defeated AirAsiaX as the first Asia-Pacific airline to take delivery of an Airbus A330-900neo. Lion Air must now put this aircraft into service.

Will you fly with the Lion Air Airbus A330-900neo? Let us know in the comments below!