Malindo Air launches India, further shaking up Kuala Lumpur market for Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia

Malaysia's Malindo Air is moving forward on its delayed expansion plans for India with four new routes which will quickly give the Lion Air Group affiliate a 15% share of the Malaysia-India market. Malindo is seeking to become a major player in the Malaysia-India market as well as offer connections in the fast growing Indonesia-India market.

Malindo is targeting the Kuala Lumpur-Delhi and Kuala Lumpur-Mumbai routes, which currently are only served by Malaysia Airlines (MAS). It will compete against AirAsia to Tiruchirappalli and will become the only carrier linking Kuala Lumpur with Ahmedabad.

The hybrid carrier is also adding a second destination in Bangladesh, Chittagong, as part of its push into South Asia. By its first anniversary in late Mar-2014, Malindo will account for 12% of total capacity between Malaysia and South Asia.