Malindo Air is an airline based in Malaysia, headquartered in Petaling Jaya.^[4] It is a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI) (51%) of Malaysia and Lion Air of Indonesia (49%). The name "Malindo" is derived from the names of respective countries: Malaysia and Indonesia. Malindo Air initially planned to start operation on 1 May 2013 from the new KLIA2 terminal. However, Malindo Air brought forward the launch date to mid-March 2013 with domestic destinations.^[5][6] The airline offers only economy class and business class seats.

The entry of AirAsia from Malaysia in the home turf of Lion Air has encouraged the Indonesian airline to enter Malaysian market with a subsidiary airline. AirAsia's subsidiary Indonesia AirAsia, in partnership with its parent firm, attempted to buy Indonesian carrier Batavia Air to gain foothold in Indonesia, but the deal did not go through due to regulatory complications and Batavia Air ended up going bankrupt. The attempted deal resulted in turf war between Lion Air, Indonesia's biggest low-cost carrier, and AirAsia, Asia's biggest low-cost carrier.

Mr Chandran Ramamurthy, personal assistant executive to the president director of Lion Air, has been appointed as CEO of Malindo Air. The airline inaugural flights began operational on 22 March 2013.

For its jet routes, Malindo Air provides a personal TV (in-flight entertainment system) in every seat, light snacks and free meal, seat pitches of 32" and 45" for economy class and business class respectively, and free baggage allowances of 20 kg & 30 kg. Furthermore, wifi service will be available from June onwards.^[7][8] Combination of the amenities and services and low cost fares puts Malindo Air in the category of hybrid airline.

The IFE is based on Panasonic eXLite with 9 inch touchscreens in Economy class and 11.1 inch touchscreens in Business Class, capable of gestures (swiping, scrolling), and full meals are served in Business class.

According to Malindo Air, a total of 50,000 passengers had flown with the airline as of 9 May 2013.

The airline also has expanded on a parallel turboprop service, focusing mainly flights within 2-hour radius from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. Pioneer destinations include Penang, Johor Bahru and Kota Bahru, the flights has commenced in early June 2013.

Starting from 28 August, Malindo Air has started international routes to Bangladesh, and from September to Indonesia.

• Bangladesh
  • Dhaka - Shahjalal International Airport^[9]

• Indonesia
  • Denpasar - Ngurah Rai International Airport(begins 26 September 2013)^[10]
  • Jakarta - Soekarno-Hatta International Airport(begins 23 September 2013)^[11]

• Malaysia
  • Alor Setar - Sultan Abdul Halim Airport
  • Johor Bahru - Senai International Airport
  • Langkawi - Langkawi Airport
  • Kuala Lumpur - Kuala Lumpur International Airport
  • Kuala Lumpur - Subang Airport
  • Kuala Terengganu - Sultan Mahmud Airport
  • Kota Bharu - Sultan Ismail Petra Airport
  • Kota Kinabalu - Kota Kinabalu International Airport
  • Kuching - Kuching International Airport
  • Miri - Miri Airport^[12]
  • Penang - Penang International Airport
  • Sibu - Sibu Airport
  • Tawau - Tawau Airport

Other destinations planned include Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, and China.^[5][13]

Malindo Air's parent company Lion Air intends to start operations with 12 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft.^[14] The company is planning to increase its fleet size to 100 planes over the next ten years. As of July 2013, the Malindo Air fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 4 months:^[15]

Malindo Air proposed destinations http://www.malindoairlines.com/destinations.php

• Malindo Air