Founding
On November 18, 2011, Lion Air announced its intentions to enter the full service market with the announcement of a premium subsidiary by the name of Space Jet;[5] the airline was to be a full-service subsidiary to compete with the Indonesian flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, which at the time was the only operating full service carrier (monopoly) serving the Indonesian market.[6]
In June 2012, Batik Air was established, following a rename from Space Jet.[7][8] The announcement was followed by a commitment by the Lion Air Group for five Boeing 787 Dreamliners to be allocated to Batik, intending to have them delivered by 2015.[9]
The airline began operations on May 3, 2013 using Boeing 737-900ERs leased from Lion Air, and at that point became the country's third full service carrier after Garuda Indonesia and the short-lived Pacific Royale Airways.[6][10] Batik Air's 737-900ERs were equipped with a two-class seating configuration, replacing Lion Air's two-class 737-900ER service.[1] The new service offered passengers a personal television (in-flight entertainment system) in every seat, light snacks and free meals, and seat pitches of 32 in in economy class and 45 in in business class, as well as free baggage allowances.[11]
In 2014, Lion Air Group cancelled the Boeing 787 deal with Boeing and indefinitely shelved plans for the long-haul expansion of Batik Air, citing the airline's inclusion in the European Union airline blacklist at the time.[12] In June 2016, the airline was removed from the EU Blacklist, together with its parent Lion Air.[13]
Expansion
In November 2019, Batik Air received its first wide-body aircraft, a single Airbus A330-300, transferred from Thai Lion Air.[14] The airline announced its intention to use the aircraft to fly to Saudi Arabia, carrying umrah passengers to Jeddah and Medina, complementing Lion Air's existing service.[15][16] Medina later became the airline's first long haul route when it launched flights from Surabaya carrying hajj pilgrims on December 17 of that year.[17] In February 2020, the aircraft was used to repatriate Indonesian nationals from Wuhan, China during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.[18][19]
