Before 2000, air tickets were only affordable for the upper class due\nto their high prices, while middle- and lower-class citizens could only\ntravel by land routes.<\/p>\n
Seeing this disparity, Rusdi Kirana was inspired to create a low-cost\nairline that everyone could enjoy. The idea emerged while he was\nstudying at the Faculty of Economics at Pancasila University and running\na side business as a ticket scalper at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.<\/p>\n
From that side business, Rusdi gained an understanding of the\naviation industry and accumulated capital to expand his ventures. In the\n1990s, Rusdi, assisted by his brother Kusnan Kirana, founded a travel\nagency named \u201cLion Tour\u201d. The name \u201cLion\u201d was chosen because both were\nLeo zodiac signs.<\/p>\n
Quoting Warta Ekonomi magazine (2006), he ran this business for 13\nyears before it expanded further in 1999. That year, with the permission\nto establish new private airlines in Indonesia, the Kirana brothers\nfounded \u201cLion Air\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to Gatra magazine (13\/11\/2004), starting with two leased\naircraft, the airline\u2019s licence was issued in 1999. However, per Lion\nAir\u2019s official website, operations began on 30 June 2000.<\/p>\n
Lion Air\u2019s first route was Jakarta-Pontianak at Rp300,000. This price\nwas well below competitors\u2019 fares of Rp1.1 million. Soon after, the\nJakarta-Manado route, normally Rp2.1 million, was offered at\nRp400,000.<\/p>\n
Initially, many doubted the business would survive, but it did not\nfail. Instead, Lion Air thrived as an alternative for the public to\nfly.<\/p>\n
By 2004, Lion Air operated 23 aircraft. Daily, it served 130 flights\nin Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The fleet continued to\ngrow.<\/p>\n
Before the pandemic, Lion Air\u2019s aircraft dominated Terminal 1 at\nSoekarno-Hatta Airport. This was because Lion Air also oversaw several\nairlines such as Wings Air, Batik Air, Lion Bizjet, Malindo Air\n(Malaysia), and Thai Lion Air (Thailand).<\/p>\n
This success led Lion Air to brand itself as a low-cost carrier. Its\nslogan is \u201cWe Make People Fly.\u201d In 2018, the airline carried 36.8\nmillion passengers, accounting for 35% of inter-island and inter-city\ntravellers.<\/p>\n
Now, Lion Air has a new airline venture, Super Air Jet.\nInterestingly, this new carrier was launched during the pandemic when\nmany others stalled.<\/p>\n
Super Air Jet\u2019s maiden flight was on 6 August 2021, with routes from\nJakarta to Kualanamu, Medan, and Jakarta to Batam. According to its\nofficial website, Super Air Jet offers a low-cost carrier concept with\ndirect point-to-point flights in the domestic market, and the company\nhopes to expand to international routes.<\/p>\n
In 2017, Rusdi ranked 33rd among Indonesia\u2019s 50 richest people\naccording to Forbes, with wealth of US$970 million. However, in 2022,\nhis position dropped to 38th with US$835 million.<\/p>\n
Although a pioneer in affordable aviation, we all know Lion Air\nsacrifices something expensive that passengers must pay: flight\ndelays.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lion-air-boss-once-lived-in-poverty-started-as-a-ticket-scalper-1774702275", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }