Major Indonesian carrier Lion Air plans to expand its route network to China from next year.
It is in discussions with Chinese regulators to start services to Guangzhou, Shanghai and possibly other cities in China, senior Lion Air executives said.
Moving beyond its traditional domestic customer base, Lion Air hinted at big plans for China.
"One of the biggest countries for outgoing tourism is China. If we can get the route permits, 10 planes are not enough to serve those cities," said Lion Group president director Edward Sirait.
Privately owned Lion Air also said it has no definite date yet for a planned initial public offering worth about $700 million which was previously slated for early 2016.
This was shelved due to weak market conditions after falling commodity prices.
"We are not convinced that if we sell our shares, they can be immediately absorbed by the market right now," Sirait said.
