Citilink (QG, Surabaya) plans to expand its fleet to 50 planes and sell a 30 percent stake in an initial public offering by 2015, the company's chief executive, Arif Wibowo has said. The Indonesian carrier is also planning a regional expansion next year, eyeing 7 destinations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and northern Australia as a means of bolstering its network and presence. Commenting on his company's financial prospects, Mr Wibowo said its performance would have to improve before an IPO can be considered. The company posted a USD28.4 million loss on operating revenue of USD73.4million in 2012. It aims to reach a 19% market share with USD1 billion in revenue by 2015 by flying 16 million passengers in 50 aircraft. Citilink's fleet consists of twenty two A320-200s, six B737-300s and one B737-400.

Merpati (MZ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) faces an uncertain future over reports that its sole shareholder, the Indonesian government, is considering closing down the debt-ridden airline. Indonesia's State-Owned Enterprises Minister, Dahlan Iskan, said he would consider numerous proposals made regarding the shutting down of the airline, which, despite a change in leadership effected last year, has yet to show any signs of a turn around. Cost cutting measures thus far have seen Merpati axe roughly 12 routes from its previous 124-strong network with figures showing that 112 of them were unprofitable owing to load factors of less than 60%. Merpati's debts currently stand at US$32.7million, owed mostly to state-owned institutions such as oil and gas firm PT Pertamina for fuel purchases, Mandiri Bank, airport operator Angkasa Pura II, state asset manager PT PPA and PT Jasindo, an insurance firm. Indonesian aviation sources speculate as to how even a propped-up Merpati would fare in the long run against the likes of Lion Airlines (JT, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta), Citilink (QG, Surabaya) and a resurgent Mandala Airlines (RI, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) all of whom have set their sights on dominating, not just the domestic Indonesian market, but the regional South East Asian one as well.

Express Air (XN, Makassar) has launched daily service from Batam to Pontianak on February 7 taking over one of the only routes bankrupt Batavia Air (Y6, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) had not served in competition with other Indonesian carriers already. Sriwijaya Air (SJ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) has announced plans to take over the route from Yogyakarta to Pontianak. Low-cost carriers Citilink (QG, Surabaya) and Mandala Airlines (RI, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) are both planning to enter new markets where capacity was lost due to the market exit of Batavia but that are already served by other carriers.

Citilink (QG, Surabaya) will confirm options for 25 additional A320neos from an order originally made by parent Garuda Indonesia (GA, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) in 2011. At the time, Garuda had ordered 15 A320-200s and 10 A320neos for its Citilink strategic business unit that has since become an independent carrier with an own air operator certificate. Citilink has now announced plans to confirm all 25 options and will then eventually operate 35 A320neos. The low-cost carrier currently operates 14 A320-200s, 6 B737-300s and a single B737-400.

Citilink (QG, Surabaya) has finished its turboprop evaluation process and has announced that it plans to place an order for 25 ATR 72-600s with deliveries expected to start in September of 2013 and end in 2015. Citilink had previously already announced Batam and Lombok as its likely first bases for turboprop operations and has secured options for additional 25 ATR 72-600s.