Aircraft
737-900ERs make their mark on Asia Pacific
Indonesia’s Lion Air and India’s SpiceJet have started operating some of the first 737-900ERs to roll off Boeing’s Renton, Washington assembly line.

Indonesia’s Lion Air and India’s SpiceJet have started operating some of the first 737-900ERs to roll off Boeing’s Renton, Washington assembly line. The Asian carriers could well serve as barometers of the type’s value within the low-fare markets expected to account for so much of the region’s airline growth. Early accounts suggest the new twinjet has met expectations and more.

Lion Air took delivery of its ninth 900ER just before this year’s Singapore Air Show and, according to Boeing 737 program manager John Hamilton, the Jakarta-based airline has seen load factors of between 90 and 95 percent in its new 213-seat airplanes.