Lion puts ATRs beneath its Wings

JAKARTA -Indonesia’s carrier Lion Air has signed a deal for 10 firm ATR 72-500 with options for 10 additional aircraft.

These aircraft will be the first new ATR 72-500s to fly in Indonesia’s skies.

Lion Air subsidiary Wings Air will operate the 72-seat aircraft.

Aircraft deliveries will start in 2009.

Rusdi Kirana, Lion Air CEO, said, “The new aircraft will support our Boeing 737-900ER operations. With our brand new fleet of ATR 72-500s, we will be able to develop a strong low-cost network, feeding Lion Air’s major hubs.”

Stéphane Mayer, ATR CEO, said the deal was important “in order to increase our presence in the expanding Indonesian market and continue the growth of our large fleet in south east Asia, which has become a real boom market in the last three years”.