New entrant arrives on Kuala Lumpur-Perth route

Malindo Air has joined AirAsia X and Malaysia Airlines on the Perth-Kuala Lumpur route after its inaugural flight touched down in the West Australian capital on Thursday.

The Boeing 737-800 operating flight OD151 received an ARFF monitor cross salute after landing at Perth Airport at 1440 local time on Thursday. The aircraft, registration 9M-LNW, was on the ground for about an hour before taking off as the reciprocal OD152.

The airline, which launched in March 2013, is a joint-venture between Indonesia’s Lion Air group and Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI). Perth is Malindo’s first destination in Australia and will be served daily before increasing to 11 flights a week in early December.

Perth Airport noted Malaysia was its fifth largest international market with more than 300,000 passengers on the route in the past year.

“Malaysia is a popular holiday destination and, combined with a large number of passengers also visiting friends and relatives, will continue as one of Perth’s core markets for many years to come,” Perth Airport chief executive Brad Geatches said in a statement.

Malindo chief executive Chandran Rama Muthy said recently the the addition of Perth to the airline’s route network would “expand our coverage and strengthen our customer proposition in the strategically important markets of Asia”.

“We are very confident that this new service, our first to Australia, will boost travel and trade between Australia and Malaysia,” he said.

While Malindo is using narrowbody aircraft to serve Perth, both Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia X operate Airbus A330-300 widebodies on the route.

Malindo Air receives the traditional ARFF monitor cross salute at Perth Airport after the inaugural flight. (Perth Airport/Twitter)

Some celebrations in the terminal after Malindo Air’s inaugural flight to Perth. (Perth Airport/Twitter)