Batik Air has a new addition to its fleet. The full-service subsidiary of Indonesia’s Lion Group, welcomed the arrival of its first A320neo at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia on 3 February. While the airline has a number of Boeing 737 aircraft, this latest delivery makes it the 46th Airbus aircraft in Batik Air’s fleet which already includes 44 A320 family aircraft. It also operates a single Airbus A330-300 for long-haul operations (which recently operated a coronavirus-related rescue flight to Wuhan).

Batik Air's A320neo delivery photo. Photo: Airbus

About Batik's latest addition

The new Batik Air A320neo features 156 seats: 12 in business and 144 in economy. According to Airbus, the new aircraft offers "the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky". With its new engines and Sharklets, the manufacturer claims at least "15% fuel savings at delivery and 20% by 2020".

Simple Flying contacted Airbus to try and find out why or how the numbers would change over time. An Airbus spokesperson said it was "due to progressive, incremental improvements of engines, sharklets and technology".

As a full-service airline, Batik Air will include baggage and meals as part of the economy class ticket. Furthermore, with 32 inches of pitch, the airline's economy class seats have inflight entertainment systems that also have USB charging ports. In business class, Batik Air offers wider seats with 45 inches of pitch.

Batik Air's economy class complete with IFE systems. Photo: Batik Air

Seven years in the making

While this is the airline's first A320neo, Batik Air received its first Airbus A320ceo in November 2014. The aircraft was the first from an order placed by Lion Group in March 2013 for a whopping 234 A320 family aircraft comprising of:

  • 109 A320neo
  • 65 A321neo
  • 60 A320ceo

Back in 2014, this is what the Chairman and Co-Founder of Lion Group had to say:

“We are delighted to celebrate the delivery of our first Airbus aircraft. These A320s, and later the A320neo and larger A321neo, will allow us to continue our expansion with one of the most modern and advanced fleets in the world...In service with Batik Air, the A320s will combine the highest levels of in-flight comfort for our premium services with the lowest operating costs the industry has to offer. We will be looking forward to take delivery of our Airbus aircraft in the months and years to come.” - Rusdi Kirana, Lion Group

Of course, not all of these A320 family aircraft will go to Batik Air. With Indonesia's Lion Air Group making the purchase, the aircraft will also go to other airlines in the group. Other airlines include:

  • Lion Air
  • Wings Air
  • Lion Bizjet
  • Malindo Air (Malaysia)
  • Thai Lion Air (Thailand)

Interestingly, Lion Air Group also has a freight business called Lion Parcel and is also in the hotel business with Lion Hotel & Plaza located in Manado, Indonesia.

Batik Air already operates a large fleet of Airbus A320s. Photo: Airbus

If the numbers remain constant, then Batik Air will have many more A320neos to take delivery of.

Have you flown with Batik Air before? We'd love to know how your experience was on this full-service airline! Let us know in the comments.