BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei: Indonesia's Lion Air has officially become a member of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), making it the first low-cost carrier (LCC) to join the trade association.
AAPA director general Subhas Menon said Lion Air's membership reflects the diversity of the association's membership and reinforces its role as the voice of international air carriers in Asia Pacific region.
"We're open to members from different business models. One of the reasons that they (Lion Air) decided to join AAPA is because we do have high competencies for technical aspects of aviation; for safety and security, and Lion Air feels that they can benefit by being part of this association," Menon said.
He spoke at the closing press conference of the AAPA's 68th Assembly of Presidents recently.
AAPA's members include Malaysia Airlines Bhd, Kazakhstan's Air Astana, Royal Brunei Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Thai Airways, Bangkok Airways, All Nippon Airways and China Airlines.
Last year the association welcomed Vietnam Airlines as its new member while in 2022 it recruited Air India.
Menon said the AAPA is keen for more LCCs to join the association as the collaboration between airlines of various business models could benefit them.
"The industry is very interconnected. It has to be collaborative. Airlines are seeing the benefits of collaboration," he added.
Lion Air president director Rudy Lumingkewas said the airline looks forward to working with other AAPA members and play its part in the continued success of the air transport sector in Asia Pacific.
"With its excellent connectivity across Indonesia and a growing network of international destinations, Lion Air is committed to expanding accessibility to various regions in Indonesia, and to playing a key role in supporting the country's economic and social development," he said in a statement.
Lion Air is Indonesia's largest privately run airline and the largest budget airline in Southeast Asia.
The airline, founded in 1999 by Indonesia's well-known businessman Rusdi Kirana and his brother Kusnan Kirana, operates international and domestic air services connecting different Indonesian cities to Malaysia, Singapore, Uzbekistan, Australia, Thailand, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, among others.