Commencing operations in 2013, Indonesian full-service airline Batik Air now has a fleet of over 60 aircraft. Starting with just three Boeing 737-900ERs, the airline has grown to include 21 Boeing 737-800s as well as over 30 Airbus A320s, and even some widebody A330s.

The Batik Air fleet at a glance

Let's first take a look at the composition of the airline's fleet as a whole. The aircraft types are listed below with quantities in parentheses, along with average ages as of November 2021:

  • Airbus A320-200 (35): 5.3 years
  • Airbus A320neo (1): 1.9 years
  • Airbus A330-300 (1): 4.1 years
  • Boeing 737-800 (21): 6.3 years
  • Boeing 737-900ER (3): 8.4 years

As you can see, the airline has a mixed fleet of both Boeing and Airbus jets - and even includes the widebody A330 among its predominantly narrowbody collection. Interestingly, this mix of types has been the case almost from the start, as Batik commenced operations in 2013 with the 737, but began to take on the A320 as early as October 2014.

We should note that there is some slightly conflicting information between some of our main sources of airline fleet data. ch-aviation.com notes that the carrier has just one Airbus A330-300, while Planespotters.net indicates that Batik operates three. Flight data indicates one of these widebodies has been fairly active, while another only recently began service with Batik Air (transferred from sister carrier Lion Air). The third A330 appears to have been parked since May 2021.

A view of Batik Airbus A330-300t that was chartered for
Photo: Getty Images

Many A320s incoming

According to ch-aviation.com, Batik Air is expecting dozens more A320 family aircraft. More specifically, the carrier is expecting 112 A320neos and 65 A321neos. It was in February of 2020 that the airline received its very first A320neo, which came from an order placed seven years ago.

Indeed, it was back in March of 2013 that the Lion Group placed an order for a whopping 234 A320 family aircraft comprising of:

  • 109 A320neos
  • 65 A321neos
  • 60 A320ceos

Comparing this original order with current order expectations, it appears that types and quantities have since been adjusted ever so slightly. The airline's A320neos feature 156 seats (12 business and 144 economy seats). At this time, the configuration of the future A321neos is unknown.

A320neo Airbus Batik
Batik Air received its very first A320neo in 2020, just before the global health crisis. Photo: Airbus

Airbus jets deferred?

With many discussions regarding cancelations and deferrals taking place privately, it's difficult to know when Batik Air will receive the remainder of its orders.

While it hasn't been discussed much in the news, it seems almost guaranteed that the airline (and its parent company Lion Group), talked to Airbus and deferred its orders. Indeed, Batik took delivery of a single A320neo in February 2020, just before many travel restrictions emerged due to the global health crisis. However, the carrier hasn't taken any new jets since- a rather peculiar delivery schedule if we were in 'normal times.'

AIB Family Flights notes that one aircraft was being prepared for Batik Air and was spotted in July 2021 without engines. Strangely, nearly five months have passed, but no updates regarding this particular aircraft have surfaced.

What do you think of Batik Air? Have you ever flown with this airline? Share your experience with us by leaving a comment.