Lion Air will add 36 aircraft to its fleet this year, including the Boeing 737 MAX 9

Lion Air will take delivery of 36 new aircraft in 2018 to expand its operations. Edward Sirait, President of Lion Air Group, said during a discussion in Jakarta on Monday, February 5, 2018, that the new aircraft will be fifteen ATR 72-600, eight Airbus A320ceo, four Boeing 737 MAX 8 and nine Boeing 737 MAX 9.

Edward said all of the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, which have a capacity of 200 people, will be shipped to Thailand. He said "there is a lot of business for us in Thailand”.

The aircraft will be shipped directly to Thailand as part of their business strategy. Edward says Thai Lion Air will add many international routes to Bangladesh, China and India.

With this extra capacity, Thai Lion Air can easily handle more passengers because the Boeing 737 MAX 9 is superior to the previous series, the MAX 8, which had a capacity of less than 200 people. But the two series are technologically the same, namely fuel-efficient and with a flight duration up to seven hours.

Thailand has sufficient airport capacity to store the aircraft, Edward said. In addition, Indonesian airports do not operate at night making it difficult to expand international flights at major airports due to slot limitations.

Lion Air Group’s new 36 aircraft types include Airbus, Boeing and ATR.

Edward said Lion has also ordered the new Boeing 737 MAX 10, which has a number of advantages over the series MAX 8 and 9. In addition to a capacity of up to 200 people, the series is more fuel efficient and has a flight duration up to nine hours.

For economy class flights, these aircraft are profitable for both airlines and passengers as it makes flights cost-efficient and tickets cheaper. He said the MAX 10 aircraft will be used on Lion Air's new routes to India and Continental Europe.