PT Lion Mentari Airlines, operating as Lion Air, is an Indonesian low-cost carrier. Based in Jakarta, Indonesia, Lion Air is the country's largest privately run airline, the second largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia after AirAsia and the second largest airline of Indonesia, flying to more than 79 destinations in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, as well as charter routes to China and Hong Kong.

Established in 1999, Lion Air has seen tremendous growth in the past several years, having acquired over 100 aircraft with nearly 500 more on order. The airline has repeatedly broken records for largest aircraft orders, such as its $24 billion order for 234 Airbus A320 jets, as well as its $22.4 billion order for 230 competing aircraft from Boeing. It had once been criticized for poor operational management in areas such as scheduling and safety, although steps have been taken to improve its safety: on June 16, 2016, the European Union lifted the ban it had placed on Lion Air from flying into European airspace.

Lion Air operates over 100 Boeing 737-800/900ER aircraft. The airline has been characterised by its rapid expansion and the success of its low-cost business model. The airline holds minority shareholdings in associate companies based in Thailand (Thai Lion Air) and Malaysia (Malindo Air).

The airline was established in October 1999 by brothers Rusdi and Kusnan Kirana and started operations on 30 June 2000, when it began scheduled passenger services between Jakarta and Denpasar using a leased Boeing 737-200. It was the first low cost airline in Indonesia. The fleet was quickly expanded with the wet-lease of 5 Yakovlev Yak-42Ds, 2 McDonnell Douglas MD-82s and 2 sub-leased Airbus A310-300s. Rapid growth enabled modernisation of the fleet with Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-400 aircraft. In 2003 a subsidiary airline was established, Wings Air, operating flights on lower density routes. Further subsidiaries were developed including Malindo Air in Malaysia in 2012, Thai Lion Air in Thailand in 2013 and domestically, Batik Air, a full-service subsidiary, also in 2013.

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