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e next cheap flights carrier to hit Australian skies is on its way – and it’s name is Lion Air.

The budget airline operates out of Indonesia and as you would expect with any sentence involving the words Indonesia, airline and cheap – the safety scrutiny is set to be enormous.

Lion Air have been operating for seven years out of Indonesia and have recently set up an Australian subsidiary known as Lion Air Australia. This has been set up in conjunction with the recently founded local charter flights operator SkyAirWorld.

SkyAirWorld holds a 51% stake in Lion Air Australia meaning that they majority Australian owned, at least on paper anyway, and are therefore allowed to operate as an Australian-based carrier. This means that they are entitled to use Australian Air Rights opening up their options considerably and avoiding a lot of red tape.

However, this does not mean that they will be gifted a free pass into Australian skies with airline safety examiners expected to undertake some of the most stringent checks ever seen in order to pass the carrier fit to grace Australian skies.

And not without good reason given that three Lion Air aircraft have already been involved in three separate major incidents. A big question-mark still hangs over the airline’s head with two non-fatal landing accidents occurring in late 2007 which were enough to end the service of the aircraft involved and another incident in 2004 claiming the lives of 25 people.

The airline were considered to be somewhat unprofessional in the areas of airmanship, flight operations, cabin crew training and maintenance according to an Indonesian Government air safety inquiry after the fatal accident. The report also blamed a runway conditions as a major contributing factor to the incident.

Although Lion Air are reportedly confident of obtaining the necessary permissions to open up their Australian venture the local air safety authority (CASA) have stated their intention to scrutinise not just Lion Air’s crew training and maintenance programs but also of its risk management systems and management structure which it believes should take an active role in safety.

If Lion are successful in opening Lion Air Australia they will be facing stiff competition from an already jam-packed Australian Cheap Flights market.