PT Lion Mentari Airlines (operating as Lion Air) is Indonesia’s largest private carrier and Asia’s first hybrid carrier which offers both economy- and business-class seating, based in Jakarta, Indonesia

PT Lion Mentari Airlines (operating as Lion Air) is Indonesia’s largest private carrier and Asia’s first hybrid carrier which offers both economy- and business-class seating, based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It operates scheduled passenger services on an extensive domestic network from Jakarta to 40 destinations with 210 daily flights (as of May 2008). Lion Air also flies to Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. Its main base is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta . The airline is on the List of air carriers banned in the European Union.The airline was established in October 1999 and started operations on June 30, 2000, when it began scheduled passenger services between Jakarta and Pontianak using a leased Boeing 737-200. It is wholly owned by Rusdi Kirana and family.The airline is also planning to become an IATA member, therefore accompanying Garuda Indonesia.