I Survived the Worlds Most NOTORIOUS Airline: LION AIR

Check out ground.news/noel to stay informed on breaking news as it's happening around the world, compare coverage, and know where your news is coming from.
--
I took a flight on Indonesia's most infamous airline, Lion Air, to find out what they're really like.
10% OFF MY AMAZING GLASSES AT FLYING EYES: flyingeyesopti...
OFFICIAL NOEL MERCH: www.noelphilip...
MY PILOT VLOGS CHANNEL: @NoelPhilipsPilotVlogs
JOIN ME ON WHATSAPP, GET WEEKLY LIVE CHATS AND MUCH MORE - SUPPORT ME ON PATREON! / inflightvideo

[@noelphilips]

Check out ground.news/noel to stay informed on breaking news as it’s happening around the world, compare coverage, and know where your news is coming from.

[@ground_news]

Thank you for sharing Noel, happy to support your channel! For anyone interested check out the link above and let us know if you have any questions.

[@ReShawna2k20]

Noel I want to ask you a personal question!

[@ReShawna2k20]

Send your email so it will be personal

[@ReShawna2k20]

I remember the crash!

[@kuntul_burung]

north of Jakarta (north west)... not north of Indonesia... you are welcome 😉

[@SimmonsAirplanes]

Noel the type of guy to point out all the safety issues with an airline, and then take the exact same flight from the last fatal crash lol. Love it

[@luxor2192]

Thats actually pretty clever, what are the odds that the same airline chrashes on the same route twice 😉

[@katrineroberts4084]

Jakarta beautiful.? Not if you know it.

[@arnoldatuhaire3906]

But did he die?, 👀👀

[@hollythx]

he was not honest about his review, it was not the airline that was at fault but the manufacturer boeing who became famous for betraying this airline, the 737 - the newest Max that we know

[@hockey1freak]

@@hollythx Sure maybe the last crash wasn't their fault... but what about the other crashes

[@petrolweeb]

I remember a story about an ex-Lion Air pilot refuses to fly with Lion Air itself except if it was him that flown the plane lol

[@rais1953]

Noel mentioned that Lion had an average of one crash every two years but when he took this flight it was three years since the last one. That's a good sign, it suggests that they've improved their safety procedures. Their subsidiary Batik Air which flies to Australia seems to be OK.

[@Jmotwa87]

@@rais1953It’s sad when your argument is, “See? It’s been 3 years since the last accident. That’s better than the 1 every 2 years they averaged before”. 😂😂

[@fitzyman4552]

@@Jmotwa87 they should put that on their terminal billboards: "It has been two years since our last crash."

[@rais1953]

@@Jmotwa87 Yes. But it's a hopeful sign.

[@RoadCone411]

@@fitzyman4552 "2 days accident free!"

[@donaldfedosiuk1638]

All those hours you logged on Russian carriers a year or so ago and now Lion Air! You're a far, far braver man than most, Noel.

[@FallenMuse81]

Facts

[@michaelj3282]

If you think Lion Air is bad, you should have flown Sempati Air, I did in the mid 90s from Yogaykarta to Denpasar, never have I been scared on flight other than this one, thank goodness it was only an hour. One of the stewardesses was literally holding the door release down the whole way.

[@Springbok295]

Sempati was horrible. I wonder how bad Bouraq was?

[@jamesbartle6816]

@Springbok295 pretty bad. I did them once and it was enough. I have also flown Adam and Batavia. Still alive

[@Dobuan75]

I survived multiple Merpati, Indonesian Aerospace C-212 Aviocar flights to and from Jakarta Halim and Cilacap in the late 1980s. Wasn’t brave enough to try Bouraq or Mandala.

[@yudikurniawan6968]

how do you get him to get on a plane that has long been bankrupt 😆

[@robertraymond348]

Damn you're old af dude, nobody even remember about that particular airline.

[@yohannessulistyo4025]

Pangkal Pinang (pronounced it nicely there Noel, locals would immediately know, Bangka island) is one of culinary havens in Indonesia. They are nowhere north of Indonesia, it settles right in the middle. The northern most point of that Sumatra region (Banda Aceh) is like 2 hours flight away.

[@timbacchus]

As a pilot and plane owner I just Love your travels. Just think all the wonderful places you can go throughout this wonderful world. Just wish all of us could get a long and cherish our life here. Nice that all the seats were orange so they can see you floating in the water.....

[@mohddin4866]

[@adeevaalisha]

If the body not scattered on impact..

[@dionarguelles8539]

I had the same experience with Lion Air when I traveled around Indonesia years back. Every single flight, they asked me if I wanted to move to the emergency exit and to assist with evacuation if needed. I had a feeling they needed to have at least one or two foreigners manning one of the exits lol

[@brentsummers7377]

I think if an airline is doing manual check-in they will always be looking for some reasonably able bodied people to go in the exit rows. Even if you check in very early they might ask you. On another occasion I was called up just before boarding if I'd swap to an exit row. I said 'Yes please!)😀

[@themoon7435]

Lmao I can't talk about Lion AIr because I'm never flown them but I think some airlines are probably a bit wack like that. I know if there's no one who's assigned to the emergency exit rows they'll look for some fit able-bodied people to move there, my sister and I were once asked while checking in if we wanted to upgrade to emergency exit (Jetstar) but we declined. I reckon if they asked Noel before the flight though maybe no one had booked those seats or the people who were sitting there weren't happy to help?

[@Si_nengatcha]

Is it because foreigners are mostly taller than locals, so they need more leg room, and easier to open the emergency exit window?

[@chrispekel5709]

​@@Si_nengatcha more leg room and they know white people don't screw stuff up. Jokes

[@viranakhairunnisaa5127]

not foreigner necessarily, probably just taller or fitter looking people

[@chrisbrown8748]

3:15 Indonesia is definitely on my list of countries to visit and I was well on my way before COVID shut everything down as I had just visited Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam with plans to visit Malaysia and Indonesia next. Glad to hear you love it there which makes me want to visit even more now since I know that you know what you’re talking about.

[@bee2k01]

Luckily you weren't delayed since Lion Air is known for that XD Agreed with you about the airport particularly this particular terminal Honestly still in love with the aesthetics of Soekarno-Hatta's Terminal 2. It's like a calming, tranquil, serene tropical resort with the wood-like colors and ethnic designs especially the roof and ceilings plus the gardens they have between the subterminals. And personally this terminal is where my childhood flights always started from so it has a good place in my heart. Probably would really be more better than the new Terminal 3 if it weren't for the fact that Terminal 2 has no landside observation place besides from the hotel XP

[@iainjohnstone3277]

As ex Ezy crew I can say that we had a similar PA when going to Ibiza. We use to have load of seat belts and life jackets taken for people to then wear to the clubs. It used to be quite frequent that 2 or 3 used to go each flight. Every turnaround our checks included lifejackets to then replace missing ones!

[@brentsutherland6385]

That answers my question about why anyone would want an aircraft life-jacket. I would not impress anyone if I showed up at my local wearing an aircraft life-jacket. 🤣

[@nugie4616]

Another interesting thing about this airline is even the CEO said "my airlines is the worst in the world, but you (indonesian) have no choice"

[@yohanmaduranga]

Oh shit 😂

[@noelphilips]

Wow, that is.... incredible!

[@emilhilmy7740]

This is about Indonesian carriers. The Gap between Garuda Indonesia Group (Garuda and Citilink) on reliability and safety record with others carriers is quite big. This is base on Skytrax assesment. Even some others international media in Airlines Industry assesment too. Still if you domestic in Indonesia you probably have to fly Lion Air group, because their widest networks coverage, and their cheaper prices.

[@harukrentz435]

Well garuda is national flagship carrier they basically run on gov money.

[@intang.6052]

As an Indonesian myself, i would rather spend more money to fly within the country with Garuda Indonesia than with Lion Air group...

[@dalecollins-smith3551]

Ive lived in Jakarta for nye on 30 years and flown Lionair many times. They are getting better. I remember getting rained on in the back seats of their md80's. Once you've risked your life on a motorbike in peak hour Jakarta traffic you won't be as worried when flying Lionair. You'll just be happy to have survived another day.

[@agps4418]

😂😂😂😂😂 tough luck mate.. cheers from yahukimo

[@cinevile]

happened to me once too, on their MD flight, i was like tf is this water from aircond? but no it was water leaking from outside 🤣

[@yudikurniawan6968]

I've flown with Lion Air several times, no problems except for the delay which wasn't too long. lion air is the largest airline in Indonesia, serving many routes that are not even served by other airlines. there have been several incidents of accidents that have made this airline a bad name, but in our opinion, what has made this airline so bad is not the accident, but the very long delays or cancellations of schedules. but people still choose to ride this airline because they have no choice 😆

[@yantyagustina2735]

Andd because it’s cheap, a lot cheaper than Garuda Indonesia Airways. The only annoying thing that happen to me so far with tgis airline is they can change your departure time to be much earlier. It happened to me pre covid days twice. I booked the last flight on that day and they moved it like 2-3 hours earlier which caused problem since I came from remote regency in west borneo. When i got to the airport, the last flight was actually still available so god knew what they moved my flight earlier. I don’t fly a lot nowadays because covid and I no longer work in Borneo so when I fly these days, they are actually quite punctual. I got delayed due to bad weather tho. Their landing are still not butter

[@r3zaful]

I really wish that Adam Air was still available for in Indonesia, lion group is... Feels like betting my life on the line. Terrible safety records, badly maintenanced plane etc.

[@mr.gochin1018]

@@r3zaful Adam Air? you must be joking, right?

[@eastaviator5041]

@@r3zaful adam air??? wow i suggest you to read the history of adam air before commenting. lion air isn't good but they are way better than adam air in terms of safety.

[@SpectreT-3-yk1lg]

Lion Air is better why?? Cuz Adam Air only concerned with money and operating a broken plane. Since the Adam 574 accident, Adam was demanded by the KNKT and the Ministry of Transportation to improve safety for 3 months, but 3 months passed they still didn't change and then went bankrupt in 2008. For Lion air it's still better because they are still holding maintenance but yes it has to improve airline safety and service.

[@erickalauraaa]

Wow Noel, you’re so brave!! I am such a nervous flyer I actually refuse to get on a plane. But seeing you do something like this gives me a bit more confidence 😅 Thank you for your videos!

[@SassyyjuicyMaria]

He must have nerves of steel.

[@Thefallenpea]

think about it like this, ppl have a way higher chance to die on a car crash than a place crash. One more thing, pick an airline that have good safety records

[@Nae395]

Safer than driving just remember

[@divestdreamer]

@@Thefallenpea I'd still rather be in a car crash than plane crash. At least I won't be falling thousands of feet out of the sky

[@erickalauraaa]

@@Thefallenpea Trust me I know all the statistics but my anxiety says No 😅

[@farhanmarco7827]

Mr. Noel Phillips has now reviewed Garuda, Lion Air, Batik and NAM Air. What a man.

[@janelliz]

I laughed at the life vest bit. I work for a large life vest manufacturer, Lion Air is a new customer actually lol. But, yes! Believe it or not, people do take life vests. It does seem to be an issue on Asian airlines but I can't complain - keeps us in business 🤣 Some airlines will actually give away infant life vest specifically because they don't want them back after being handled by customers.

[@Archduke17]

Noel, you survived SCAT. You can do Lion Air.

[@thelonesculler]

Twice!

[@lrg3834]

From 1970 to 1999, Korean Air (aka KAL) wrote off nearly 20 aircraft in serious incidences and crashes, resulting in about 700 fatalities in the process. Since then, management has turned the ship around with better training and safety procedures. Hopefully, Lion Air makes similar changes. Frankly, I'm amazed people still want to fly with the Indonesian carrier, given its dodgy safety record. Management shouldn't take this for granted because even loyal customers will only give you so many opportunities to fix things before they walk away for good.

[@train1831]

A few years ago we had same thing with the life vests on the Airberlin-Shuttle down to Palma de Mallorca and when I talked to the crew later, they said it's pretty common on flights to "Party-Islands" that people try to take those vests with them so that they had always a few extra vests on their flights for the return flight.

[@clairedobson2240]

Got to say stunning scenery on approach. You are a brave guy Noel flying these airlines like Lion Air

[@noelphilips]

Many thanks!

[@ahmedalmadani5073]

thank you for sharing man, i have been living in Indonesia for almost a decade now, using lion airlines maybe 4 of 5 times, most of my traveling i use Citilink airlines, its good . again thanx for sharing and hope ur having a good time in Indonesia.

[@CheapBastard1988]

I've always liked how the pronunciation of "Lion Air" sounds like a Chinese knockoff of "Ryanair."

[@zahrans]

It is fried rice, you plick.

[@elementaryFlame]

I'd never set foot on a lion air flight after talking to a third party check pilot I sat next to on the way to SEA.

[@luigifederici495]

My wife and I were due to fly Lion Air during our honeymoon last year from Bali to Ambon to visit her great grandfather's grave in the war cemetery over there. It was a 2 leg flight taking us through Makassar however Lion kept changing the flight times for each of the legs of the journey making the trip impossible over one day. Luckily they offered a free transfer onto their more premium sister airline Batik (although we did have to take a longer route through jakarta) which was nice. Overall not the worst experience with Lion (at least their customer service).

[@agps4418]

You're lucky 😂

[@simplyyellow6240]

That's because you're foreigner. If you're locals and complain about it...they probably will told you to swim to ambon.

[@captainmotorsickle5900]

My job has me taking Lion air (usually) every few weeks to travel around Indonesia, I've never had a "scary" moment with them. The leg room is an issue like you stated but I have often been asked if I want to move to the emergency exit, just like in your scenario.

[@jarazimmerman3400]

Even for the worst airlines in the worst countries, flying is pretty safe and the probability of a crash is low. It's just when compared to Europe, North America etc that it looks very bad in places like Indonesia. You'll be fine!

[@jonasuk]

737-900 seem quite rare. I think in Europe your best bet to fly on one of those is with KLM. As for Lion air, I suppose statistically speaking it is still about as safe as an domestic long distance bus in the same country which most people would board without much concern. Lionair might be safer now that they have the world's eyes on them.

[@nishalimaye]

United flies 737-900s frequently out of IAH (Noel’s home airport)

[@davidperry3257]

You get what you pay for at Lion Air. You’re statistically much safer on one of their planes than you are on the motorway

[@emalius2736]

you should go to koh samui airport, really cool airport where everythings outside. Theres no inside terminal😍

[@chocolatechaser7168]

Noel! Very very brave individual 😂 taking a trip that most wouldn’t…

[@noelphilips]

Thanks for watching.

[@throwback888]

They have another branch called Thai Lion Air that operates in Thailand, they are always full.

[@vivaindian]

OMG! Air crash investigation full of Lion Air crash incidents. You are no doubt very courageous and special thanks to Lion Air management after so many incidents, till they are operating their normal business. Good to watch. Good luck both of you. Sending care from 🇮🇳

[@mattwood086]

Jakarta is the most underrated city in Asia. Cannot wait to get back there

[@musthaf9]

The key to flying Lion air is, don’t expect timely arrival, don’t expect great service, basically don’t expect too much, and you’ll feel “well that wasn’t too bad” 😆

[@jayr4857]

And probably don't expect to arrive at all.

[@bardo0007]

If you live to tell the tale

[@ianrsa8422]

TSA would be having a heart attack with that security protocol

[@JeanClaudeCOCO]

That’s why they’ve failed many times to get FAA approval to fly into the US. Most Indonesian carriers are category 2 meaning the country either lacked laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or its civil aviation authority - a body equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters - was deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspection procedures. Garuda, Indonesia the flag carrier has a Category 1 rating but has chosen not to fly to the US due to their geographical focus on Asia.

[@farhanmarco7827]

@@JeanClaudeCOCO Garuda hasn’t flown to US since late 1997. I believe they’ve just cut the flight to London in 2021 due to financial reasons. So far only Amsterdam is the surviving long route this carrier has to offer.

[@PatrickBurford1]

Tbf one of those crashes was the MAX which wasn't there fault. Very brave of you though 😂

[@rg832]

In Indonesia, Lion Air Group and Garuda Indonesia Group is the 2 airlines that monopolies the market. Sometimes people have no choice to fly with lion because Garuda ticket price is almost 3 times lion.

[@arantan08]

Not always about the price. Garuda does not cover all of Indonesia, some route in Kalimantan is only flew by Lion or Wings, which is subsidiaries of Lion. Last week I just flew using Wings, 2 properlers, 4 seats wide ATR72 from Balikpapan to Tanjung Selor, very small airport and short runway it is an experience.

[@zakb7418]

city link are famous to

[@Flajetcollector60]

You're a brave man Noel albeit we know the Lion Air Max 8 accident was certainly not all on the airline themselves. Thanks for doing this. Indonesia looks beautiful hope to get out there some day soon.

[@Eza_yuta]

Please come here mister to Indonesia

[@GarryChenYT]

Pangkal pinang is still considered on the south part of Indonesia actually. Indonesia is quite bigger than what even most Indonesians think. The northern big cities is actually even more north in latitude than Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. I'm quite Interested to know what brings you to PGK.

[@ninettemurk7492]

I think he's flying two different airlines to and from the island as it's just a 90 minute flight and will return to Jakarta on another one in an hour or two. Maybe Batik Air?

[@tiadaid]

@@ninettemurk7492 Batik Air is just another name for Lion Air!

[@ninettemurk7492]

@@tiadaid Seriously? They have different livery on their planes.

[@revyrain]

@@tiadaid No. It's just that Batik is a "child company" of Lion group. They have different management team and crews than Lion, all newer fleets, and finer services and punctuality according to most frequenters.

[@maccaroonii]

Honestly, Lion's been very safe these past couple of years, especially since their 2018 MAX incident, aside from the occasional annoying delays, broken/missing seatbelts on some of their planes, they've been the only airline making a profit in the pandemic, so big up to them.

[@stellita884]

Yeah just missing seat belts. After all, they’re optional items

[@urbanrider429]

You have some nerve flying Lion air on the same route as the one that crashed,balls of steel Noel,

[@emilhilmy7740]

Fly Garuda and its subsidiary Citilink. That's what I'm doing. Problem is for most Indonesian, Lion Air Group is the most affordable ones. Certainly they are now has the widest networks available.

[@dennisthomsett9468]

i lived in Indonesia for 10 years and flew lion air domestically all the time , i wont lie i was scared shitless every time

[@notpopeye]

2:24 Having been to Indonesia nearly a dozen times, I can tell you that your impression of the airport is just as apt as an analogy for the country writ-large. Sheer chaos, with moments of absolute peace and serenity.

[@hlim431]

Noel, thanks for this video.... I worked out this is close to a prototype location & I will probably take this same flight to visit Bangka Island next month

[@drumswest5035]

That flight doesn’t seem any worse than the mexican flight you took on the cessna caravan where the pilot was on his iphone most of the flight…now that was a scary one!

[@Kuricang31]

Happy to see that you liked the terminal. It was designed by Paul Andreu, the same guy who designed the CDG airport and one of its ill-fated section of a terminal there 3:50 As Indonesia is Muslim-majority country, a Musholla is required in every place as to provide the Muslims with a place for them to pray but yeah the placement is a bit odd. Never understand why if there is a Musholla, it will always be built next to or near the toilet. Kinda makes it unsanitary and unholy for me

[@amazinglee9864]

Noel - do you have a video where you talk about what essentials you take on your flights? Interesting to see if anything useful I should have on a flight

[@delenacrawford9199]

Noel, glad you are coming to Indonesia. Please add the Indonesian subtitles to attract the audience and get many subscribers.

[@FredPilcher]

You're a brave man, Noel. You take your life in your hands flying Lion Air.

[@serua3285]

Having lived in Jakarta for 9 years…. Indonesian people really appreciate Terima Kasih (for thank you) & Jakarta airport is Soekana Hatta named after previous President & his deputy….enjoy your vlogs…took Lion many times.

[@kenstudios]

Another great video and I enjoy watching as always. For a future video one day, could you review a Kenya Airways airline?

[@josuaerick9670]

great video as always, I'm glad you're enjoying your time here in Indonesia

[@noelphilips]

Thanks! 😃

[@jerrybow8779]

You gotta love the Indonesian plane etiquette, as soon as the wheels hit the tarmac all you hear is the seatbelts unclicking and half the passengers standing up trying to get off before the plane even stops😂😂🤦‍♂️

[@grahamhand8644]

I've done a search for Lion Air crashes and compared the actual death toll versus the potential and while some of the data is incomplete, out of a potential 1057 they've only killed 214 people. I was only able to find 7 crashes and obviously one of those was the infamous Lion Air 610. I'm willing to cut them a bit of slack on that one. Dangerous? Sure but if you've always wanted to experience a plane crash, Lion Air sounds like a good bet.

[@AussieAvgeek98]

I've flown with them between Thailand and Indonesia many times, always a pleasant experience, wouldn't recommend long haul though since they do fly to Australia, I'd suggest to just pony up the extra cash and fly Qantas or Thai Airways for that.

[@jamessaunders5195]

Lion Air don't fly to Australia. Their Indonesian subsidiary Batik does, as does Batik Air Malaysia

[@ScottOSaurus]

Jakarta and Bali are on my bucket list!

[@chrispekel5709]

Go to Munduk in Bali. South Bali is too crowded these days

[@otnasus_]

Thank you for reviewing Lion Air, and thank you for visiting Pangkalpinang. Yes, the airline has got many bad reviews from the passengers,but we have no other choice, since this airline provide us more routes and timeable which not covered by some the other airlines. And the main reason, this flight offer the most affordable price than others. While you're in Indonesia, please review Citilink or Super Air Jet.

[@alstommoviar151]

They used to have 747s which had ifes.Even on thai lion air a330 had ifes.But it is rare because they are a low cost airline

[@chris22capt]

I'm frequent on Lion's flight, have a completly different opinion from others, never had an issue with them, very seldom run into delay, always a pleasant flight, prefer their -800 over the -900ER tho, it seems the seat pitch is much better on the -800.

[@cinevile]

super airjet which another lion's subsidiary has better seat pitch that lion itself

[@chris22capt]

@@cinevile technically speaking, on legal document, super air jet is not a subsidiary to lion group, but both owned by the same person, so... of course it's different and better

[@cinevile]

@@chris22capt its not under lion group?

[@chris22capt]

@@cinevile it's not. It's registered as a independent, separate company from lion group. Lion group's pr confirmed this back when super air jet just start their operational. But because they both owned by the same person, sometimes they are kinda helping each other on operational aspect like maintanence, etc. Lion group's crews that need a ride back to their base after a scheduled flight would sometimes fly on super air jet as an extra crew. But, other than that, it's a separate company. That's why you won't find any lion group's logo painted on super's fleet

[@SpaceBaron]

Noel, you have balls of solid steel! 😁 I would not fly in an airline with such a bad safety record, even if you pay me to! No airline is perfect and there will be accidents in time, but then those should be non-fatal and far between, but this airline... NOPE! I may be crazy, but I am not stupid! 🤪

[@kevy787]

Hi Noel I used to live in Jakarta and regularly travelled home to Perth my choice if possible would be Garuda, but my last choice many times had to be Lion Air my answer to you is I'm still here but always a bit nervous flying them. Keep up the good work love your videos.

[@RifaOnGaming]

some local passengers had already opened the emergency exit before the plane took off

[@ChristopherHill2293]

Soekarno-Hatta is truly a beautiful terminal, however the boarding process is a total logistical mess. Noel, you should fly out of HLP in Jakarta to experience true insanity. There are some amazing food outlets in the departure lounge, though. I'd love to see you fly into Medan in the future, too (KNO)

[@bettygarbutt498]

You are a brave, brave man Noel. So happy you didn't go for a swimming lesson in a lagoon off the end of the runway lol

[@theAdamAronggear]

I am from Indonesia, and I always imagined that Lion Air is like Indonesia's *Spirit Airlines* where you get what you paid for and notorious for their very cheap flight price with (sometimes but not always) bad service. However, Lion Air isn't that really cheap as Spirit, but it's almost the same like Ireland's and Europe's favourite airline *Ryanair.* Talking about their customer service, sometimes they disappoint their own passengers (including their full-service counterpart Batik Air). For me, I would still prefer Garuda Indonesia and their low-cost counterpart Citilink Indonesia.

[@victormartinez2941]

Not necessarily a fair comparison because even though spirit airlines is a no frills airline that gives you exactly what you pay for, Spirit airlines has a spotless safety record unlike Lion air

[@theAdamAronggear]

@@victormartinez2941 noted. Thanks for the input!

[@adiba9734]

4:55 fyi that the 737 max was actually not lion's fault. they are some research about it. lion try to inform Boeing to train their pilot because of this new aircraft but Boeing refused they claimed that that plane was the same as the 737 900 and mocked lion staff as uncivilized

[@nurrizadjatmiko21]

I am glad that you decided to try Indonesia Lion Air because i flown this airline 2 times from Jakarta to Singapore and VV and at the time i think Lion Air is a good airline before officially the world's worst airline in 2022. Also, Lion Air is the launch customer of the Boeing 737-900ER. At the time of comment of this video, Lion Air has 112 aircraft including 2 MAX 9.

[@sainnt]

A few months ago I flew on a Batik Air Max-8, and I believe that they're a subsidiary of Lion Air. It was a weird flight because we flew from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, circled Singapore for almost an hour, then flew back to Kuala Lumpur, basically a nearly 3 hour flight to nowhere. The same aircraft took us back to Singapore a few hours later. It was all pretty bizarre.

[@tiadaid]

No doubt it was a weather diversion. Kuala Lumpur is often the alternate for Singapore.

[@sainnt]

@@tiadaid It was.

[@chrispekel5709]

They didn't tell you it was weather?

[@sainnt]

@@chrispekel5709 Eventually they did, but it caused some people to miss connecting flights.

[@chrisbrown8748]

9:34 that might be the coolest thing I’ve ever heard👍🏽👍🏽. That’s truly awesome, I aspire to one day fly somewhere that I know absolutely nothing about and then arrive to find that I love the place🙌🏽.

[@pgilb70]

I must say, Noel is so British-unfailingly polite yet critical.

[@sexygirlove20]

a few years ago my wife and i were in indonesia and flew lion air.... as the plane touched down, people removed their seat belts... stood up and removed their bags from the overhead lockers... we were travelling at 200km/h down the main runway... we slowed to get off the main runway and people were standing in the aisle waiting to get off...... the cabin crew did / said nothing.... it was as if the passengers were on a local BUS and were getting off at the next village.... SAFETY, WHAT SAFETY???

[@distaw1]

Unfortunately, people do take the life jackets. I spent 28 years at Monarch, and on occasion we had them sent back in the post.

[@brentsummers7377]

Maybe confusion over whether the rear stairs are going to be used is quite common. One time I was one of the first people to board, went through the door to the stairs on the air bridge & then towards the A320. No sign of the stairs to the rear door of the plane. About 10 other passengers and I stood there on the tarmac, for at least 2 or 3 minutes, before the guys with the rear stairs turned up & knocked to the rear door to have it opened. There had been no announcement about not using the rear stairs & obviously there had been a slip-up by the boarding gate staff leaving the door unlocked, or some sort of communication problem with the ramp guys.

[@greyjay9202]

Noel, I think your most bizarre flight was across the Gulf of California, between mainland Mexico, and Baja California. As I recall, the pilot of that puddle jumper played with his phone, then fell asleep, and drifted off course. I was prepared to see you move into the right seat, and take control of the flight. Lion Air seems like a typical budget airline. Low fares, regional destinations, crowded cabin. Sure, I'd risk a flight on that carrier -- occasionally. As a regular commuter? No, I don't think so. The odds don't add up.

[@jazmackie2324]

"Thankfully didn't go for a swimming lesson" 😂😂 killed me

[@acts29today]

Living in Thailand have flown Lion air many times, no problems but like air Asia better 😂

[@agusmedan9617]

Try Citilink please. Citilink is an airline from its parent Garuda Indonesia. In recent years, I only use either Garuda or Citilink in Indonesia. About Lion Air, I never used this airline in the past 10 years because I felt uncomfortable and dissatisfied with the service in the past. Just look at the seats, my knees feel hurt just seeing how tight is your seat. For me, seat is the first important thing before the services.

[@sahisnudharmayukti-of5ym]

Oh My God... I'm excited and happy you try Indonesian Airline. Thank you.

[@sofanmax]

My sis in law would always use Lion Air as the last resort if there's no Garuda available. Lion Air is fine most of the time and is cheaper, but as you say, not great safety track record, which makes things nerve wracking. Btw, you gotta try Yogyakarta International Airport if you ever have the chance, it's kinda new and is located by the sea and hills, supposedly has a nice view, too.

[@jimhankinson4428]

a very nice airport, although a long way from town

[@SarnieBrothers]

For me, I have been flew with this one just regularly from Java to Kalimantan due to coming home and back to school. And I already went with Lion Air for from 2010, 2 times in 2011, 2 times in 2012, 3 times in 2013, 3 times in 2014, 1 times in 2015, then 2 times in 2016, 1 times in 2017, and the last in 2021. So far still no complaining except food services. No services ahead. So I brought the meal from Airport first before Departing......

[@samsmette8043]

Heard the stories about Lion Air many a time & if ever I fly to that part of the world I’m not convinced they would be my first choice of operator! Glad to see you escaped unscathed!

[@viljawheatcroft6900]

I'm surprised at all the negative and 'braver man than me' comments here. The Max is one of the newest and safest aircraft flying today. The software problems were ironed out after the accidents and the engineering on these aircraft is insane. The engine to fuselage ratio is reassuringly large l. Noel, it would be great to have more technical information about the aircraft you are on. To me, this would help dispel some of the fears and negativity around using certain airlines and aircraft. I love the Max and am just about to board a flight from Mexico city to Merida. I know I'm going to have a safe, quiet and and enjoyable flight with great views of CDMC on the way out.

[@IrjaNailalUlya]

Nice video! The remedial flight after your flight was cancelled before 😁. Thumbs up from Indonesia!

[@noelphilips]

Thanks! 😃

[@auggith]

Prayer rooms are quite common around the world actually. Lots of airports have chapels, multi faith rooms, prayer rooms etc.

[@MalaysiaPhilip]

Flown with Lion much more than several times over the years Noel. Never once had an issue.

[@jhonson530i]

For anybody familiar with memes or fame of low-cost airlines, Ryanair has always been in the limelight all this time. Unknown to many, in Indonesia we have a sort of imitation by the name of Lion Air, same deal as a low-cost carrier, and same deal notorious in its service comfort and convenience (probably worse). Its a surprise anybody rarely mocks Lion Air probably nobody knows about them or probably we still consider any sort of ability to buy air transport somewhat of a luxury so we bothered not to complain.

[@andrewnorth4857]

I flew Lion several years ago (Singapore to Bali, I think...) and, blissfully unaware of their poor safety record, my lasting memory was the complimentary coffee and mini Loacker chocolate snack. They may be more crashy than other airlines but at least they have good manners.

[@orionbaden-powell1496]

🤣😅 that is like saying sometimes I feel a bit murdery, but I'm always polite to old ladies

[@mikecostinas3045]

The only time I ever was scared on a plane was with Thai Lion air between Bangkok and Yangon ,the plane did a massive drop and I saw the face of the stewardess and she definitely was scared.

[@Calebs_Aviation]

Great video Noel! I still can’t wait to fly a MAX in Indonesia 🇮🇩 despite the safety conditions and sketchy practices! 😂 I’m crazy! 🧥

[@noelphilips]

Thanks for watching.

[@kevinhenryviii]

I had just watched the documentary on the max crash last week. Mainly pilot error. Looking forward to your next hop.👍🏻

[@jamesbartle6816]

Not pilot error. Boeing error and lack of documentation

[@AndyLogan1984]

As James said, mainly Boeing error and their attempts to keep pace with Airbus. Not excusing Lion Air, but if you watched the documentary, which covered the Ethiopian crash, you would have seen that Boeing admitted it was due to their new system and the lack of training provided by Boeing

[@markf8409]

Your a brave man Noel with their track record but Garuda used to have that reputation too ..but lovely video as always 😊

[@noelphilips]

Thank you 😁

[@jackoneill707]

I have flown Lion all over Indonesia and find them a good airline, clean, pleasant, efficient, good value and enjoy flying with them.

[@totalfootie-edits]

The prayer room is for muslims who are waiting for their flight and have to pray according to their schedule I believe. I'm not too sure but there are certain times of day when they are obligated to pray.

[@syedputra5955]

Lion air is big not only in Indonesia, but also in Malaysia ( malindo and batek) and Thailand.

[@jackplayz97]

The fact there was the first 737 900 er that lion air first ordered next to the plane that you are on is just crazy

[@andrewmcivor42]

Not sure I'd fly with them (mainly due to the legroom), but for a short flight, it's probably not too bad

[@thomuso]

HAH exactly the same experience i had when i first came to Indonesia in 2015. That terminal is pretty confusing. I think they changed gates 3 or 4 times hardly without notice. Terminal 1 and 2 in Jakarta is chaotic, but Terminal 3 is amazing!