Lion Air rating

6.1/10Axel score · #35 of 77

4.8/10Repriceability · #31

Checked October 26, 2026 · How Axel rates airlines

Included bags help, but Lion Air makes recovering a lower fare difficult

Axel considers Lion Air a reasonable budget choice for travelers with firm plans who can stay within its included baggage allowances. Promo includes cabin and checked baggage, but its fare is not refundable, and ordinary changes never return a lower fare difference. Choose it for the total trip price, not for flexibility or an easy way to recover later savings.

Best
Promo includes a cabin bag up to 7 kg plus a small personal item.
Tickets bought or reissued from July 17, 2025 include 10 kg of checked baggage.

Worst
Cancelling Promo returns only airport taxes, not the fare.
Ordinary changes do not refund a lower fare difference.
The Other Countries schedule charges 90% of base fare for changes within 4 hours, plus any fare increase.

If the fare drops after you book, can you get money back?

RarelyRepriceability 4.8/10

Rarely. Ordinary changes on Promo and Economy forfeit any lower fare difference. Economy can instead be cancelled for a monetary refund and bought again while the cheaper fare remains available, but penalties can erase the saving. Under the Other Countries schedule, cancellation costs 25% of base fare per flight coupon more than 72 hours before departure, 50% at 72 to 4 hours and 90% within 4 hours. Promo returns only airport taxes. Changes cost USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure, then 50% or 90% of base fare per coupon in those respective windows, plus any fare increase. Check the processing-country schedule, which can differ. No general travel-credit program, validity or transferability is confirmed. The published three-month deadline is for refund requests from the travel date, not credit expiry. A 24-hour free cancellation or unpaid hold is not confirmed for JT.

Axel has no quantified savings result, sample size or observation period to report for Lion Air.

Lion Air fares
Fare	Changes	Cancel	Carry-on	Bags	Seat
Promo	Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.	Only airport taxes are refundable; the fare itself is not refunded. This follows the fare-specific table updated June 30, 2026, rather than the undated English refund FAQ, which gives percentage penalties without explaining the Promo exception.	Included	Not confirmed	Fee
Economy	Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.	Under the Other Countries schedule, cancellation costs 25% of base fare per coupon more than 72 hours before departure, 50% at 72–4 hours, and 90% within 4 hours; after a no-show, only airport taxes are refundable. The same percentage schedule is published for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India. Singapore processing instead charges SGD 150 per ticket more than 4 hours before departure; Australia AUD 160 and Taiwan TWD 3,400. Within 4 hours, those country tables allow only airport-tax refunds.	Included	Not confirmed	Fee

Fare difference on a cheaper change: Lost. Lion Air's change FAQ, updated June 29, 2026, explicitly says a lower new fare does not produce a refund of the difference. Rebooking is restricted to the same or higher booking class; no residual-credit option is published.
Same flight, lower price: No explicit price-protection or same-flight repricing policy could be confirmed. Ordinary changes do not return a lower fare difference. Practical inference: an Economy passenger could cancel under the applicable refund rules and purchase again, but cancellation penalties and possible bank charges reduce any saving. Promo normally returns only airport taxes. A fee-free adjustment or credit for the exact same flight was not verified.
Credits (unknown): No current general-purpose credit program for voluntary cancellation or lower-fare differences could be confirmed. The published three-month period is a refund-request deadline measured from the travel date, not a travel-credit validity period.
24-hour rule: No current JT commitment to a 24-hour free cancellation period or 24-hour unpaid hold was confirmed. The US DOT rule requires a qualifying cancellation or hold option for bookings made at least seven days before departure, but no US-route entitlement has been assumed for the non-US JT itineraries covered here.
Same-day change: Ordinary pre-departure changes can cover another flight that day, subject to availability and fare rules. No separate free same-day change or standby benefit was confirmed. The USD schedule charges 50% of base fare at 72–4 hours and 90% within 4 hours, plus any fare increase. Changes should be requested before check-in.
Schedule changes: Lion Air offers one free change after an airline-imposed schedule change or cancellation, with the replacement departure within three days of the original date. Its general terms also describe rerouting or a refund no greater than the fare paid, but publish no numerical schedule-change threshold. Indonesia's aviation regulator states that flight cancellation warrants a full refund or another flight without additional charge under the applicable Indonesian rules. A universal threshold or refund entitlement for every JT international schedule change could not be confirmed.

Score breakdown

Repriceability 35%4.8
- Standard fare change fee: 7.0/10 · Economy: Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.
- Lowest fare flexibility: 7.0/10 · Promo: Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.
- Lower fare on the same flight: 4.0/10 · Economy permits cancellation for a monetary refund minus the applicable cancellation penalty, allowing cancellation and rebooking at the lower price if it remains available. Ordinary changes do not refund a lower fare difference, and no fee-free same-flight repricing or credit is confirmed.
- Credit terms: 0.0/10 · No current general-purpose credit program for voluntary cancellation or lower-fare differences could be confirmed. The published three-month period is a refund-request deadline measured from the travel date, not a travel-credit validity period.
- Cancel the standard fare: 4.0/10 · Under the Other Countries schedule, cancellation costs 25% of base fare per coupon more than 72 hours before departure, 50% at 72–4 hours, and 90% within 4 hours; after a no-show, only airport taxes are refundable. The same percentage schedule is published for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India. Singapore processing instead charges SGD 150 per ticket more than 4 hours before departure; Australia AUD 160 and Taiwan TWD 3,400. Within 4 hours, those country tables allow only airport-tax refunds.
- Risk-free window: no data, median 7.0/10 used · No current JT commitment to a 24-hour free cancellation period or 24-hour unpaid hold was confirmed. The US DOT rule requires a qualifying cancellation or hold option for bookings made at least seven days before departure, but no US-route entitlement has been assumed for the non-US JT itineraries covered here.
- Same-day change: 7.0/10 · Ordinary pre-departure changes can cover another flight that day, subject to availability and fare rules. No separate free same-day change or standby benefit was confirmed. The USD schedule charges 50% of base fare at 72–4 hours and 90% within 4 hours, plus any fare increase. Changes should be requested before check-in.
- What Axel saw: does not apply · fewer than 10 attempts · Axel repricing attempts
Refunds and disruptions 20%7.2
- Commitments when the airline causes the problem: 6.0/10 · Covered by: Other_national; Indonesian delay-management regulation PM 89/2015 is the verified home-country framework. Malaysia services also fall under the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code, which covers foreign carriers; CAAM describes qualifying full refunds in the original payment method within 30 days. Lion Air's general terms describe rerouting on its own services or refunding the affected flight. No general written commitment beyond applicable law was verified for hotels, meals, unaffiliated-airline rebooking, or additional cash compensation. Its November 2025 disaster advisory offered covered passengers rescheduling or full refunds, including unused ancillaries, with stated restrictions.
- Refund conduct: 10.0/10 · No refund or compensation findings in 5 years
- Refund complaints: no data, median 5.1/10 used · too few US passengers to measure
Reliability 15%7.7*
- On-time arrival: does not apply · no data
- Cancellations: does not apply · no data · Cirium On-Time Performance Review 2025 and Southeast Asia monthly report page
Fees and transparency 15%6.8
- Carry-on in the lowest fare: 10.0/10 · One cabin bag up to 7 kg and 40 × 30 × 20 cm, plus one small personal item, is included. Oversize or overweight baggage is outside that allowance; no single universal charge was confirmed.
- First checked bag: 10.0/10 · Tickets bought or reissued from July 17, 2025 include 10 kg of checked baggage on domestic and international JT flights. This is a weight allowance, not a one-piece entitlement. Additional baggage is route-priced; prepaid packages are 5–30 kg and can be purchased until six hours before departure. The currently linked tariff is effective July 15, 2026. Unused prepaid weight is not refunded; prepaid baggage is refundable only with the ticket.
- Seat in the lowest fare: 3.0/10 · fee
- Children seated with a parent: no data, median 5.0/10 used · The April 2, 2026 help article describes paid selection of the first three economy rows during BookCabin check-in, 11 hours to 30 minutes before departure. It gives a free front-row exception for tickets bought through BookCabin, not necessarily tickets bought on Lion Air's website. This newer article is used over the undated seat page, which limits prepaid seats to domestic flights and a 24-hour purchase cutoff. Ordinary-seat selection on international flights and a free adjacent-seat guarantee for children 13 or under could not be confirmed.
- Price shown is price paid: 4.0/10 · 2024-05-31 Indonesia Directorate General of Civil Aviation; 2022-12-13 Indonesia KPPU; Supreme Court of Indonesia
Complaints and handling 10%5.2*
- Complaint rate: does not apply · too few US passengers to measure
- Mishandled bags: does not apply · not reported to DOT · U.S. DOT, April, May, July and August 2026
- Mishandled wheelchairs and scooters: does not apply · not reported to DOT · U.S. DOT, April, May, July and August 2026
- Bumping: does not apply · not reported to DOT · U.S. DOT, April to June 2026
Loyalty fairness 5%5.4*
- Miles expiry: does not apply · Current Lion Air pages promote CabinClub points and benefits for future travel. The airline pages reviewed did not establish point-expiry rules or a conventional mileage-award pricing formula; points should not be assumed never to expire.
- Devaluations: does not apply · No loyalty program with published terms was found
- Award pricing: does not apply · unknown

Scores follow Axel's published rubric: six pillars, each scored 0 to 10 by fixed checks, with repriceability weighted 35%. Facts were checked October 26, 2026. No data at all for Reliability and Complaints and handling and Loyalty fairness, so they take the median of all rated airlines. No data for 3 checks (Risk-free window, Refund complaints, Children seated with a parent), each scored at the median of all rated airlines.

Refunds and disruptions

Indonesian delay rules PM 89/2015 apply, and Indonesia's regulator says cancellations require a full refund or another flight without extra charge. Malaysia services also fall under the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code, with qualifying refunds to the original payment method within 30 days. Lion Air's terms offer rerouting on its own services or refunding the affected flight.

No general promise beyond applicable law was confirmed for hotels, meals, other-airline rebooking or additional cash compensation. As checked in October 2026, its guide allows 15 or 30 working days for listed Indonesian-bank refunds and 60 for listed foreign-bank refunds, subject to overriding legal deadlines. No refund or compensation findings were identified in 5 years. That does not establish consistently prompt payment.

Regulator actions since October 2021

May 2024, Indonesia Directorate General of Civil Aviation: The regulator's indexed 2024 annual report records enforcement entry HK.403/1/15/DRJU.KUM-2024 against Lion Mentari Airlines for fare-ceiling and fuel-surcharge violations. The PDF could not be read in full, so the sanction type and amount could not be confirmed. Source
December 2022, Indonesia KPPU; Supreme Court of Indonesia: The Supreme Court reinstated KPPU's domestic-economy ticket price-fixing finding against seven airlines, including Lion Air. The remedy required advance reporting of policies affecting competition and consumer ticket prices for two years; subsequent monitoring ran from September 2023 to September 2025. This reinstated a 2020 finding rather than establishing a separate new cartel, and no monetary penalty was identified for this case. Source

Reliability

No verified annual or rolling 12-month on-time arrival or cancellation rates were found for Lion Air. Cirium's January 2025 monthly report lists 1,817 cancelled flights, but that single month is not an annual cancellation rate. The reviewed sources include Cirium's 2025 On-Time Performance Review and Southeast Asia monthly reporting through September 2026. Axel cannot draw an annual reliability verdict from these figures.

Fees

Promo includes a 7 kg cabin bag, a small personal item and 10 kg of checked baggage for tickets bought or reissued from July 17, 2025. Extra baggage is route-priced. Front-row selection costs extra, with a BookCabin-purchase exception. Free parent-child adjacency and ordinary international seat selection are unconfirmed. Whether the first displayed price includes every mandatory charge is unconfirmed.

Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation recorded fare-ceiling and fuel-surcharge violations dated May 31, 2024, with sanction type and amount unconfirmed. On December 13, 2022, Indonesia's Supreme Court reinstated KPPU's price-fixing finding involving Lion Air. No monetary penalty was identified.

Complaints

A complaint rate per 100,000 passengers cannot be measured because Lion Air has too few US passengers in the supplied data. U.S. DOT reports for April, May, July and August 2026 do not report JT mishandled-baggage or wheelchair and scooter figures. Bumping figures are also not reported in the April to June 2026 DOT data. These gaps do not establish a low complaint or mishandling rate.

Loyalty program

Lion Air promotes CabinClub through BookCabin, with points and benefits for future travel. Point-expiry rules and an award-pricing formula were not established in the reviewed pages, so do not assume points never expire. No published loyalty terms were found that allow Axel to assess cuts over the last 24 months. The current status of legacy Lion Passport was not verified.

Choose Lion Air if

Travel light and keep your plans firm.
You find a lower total price after accounting for extra bags and paid seats.

Book elsewhere if

You want a refund or credit when the same flight becomes cheaper.
You need confirmed free seats beside your children.
You need published annual punctuality and cancellation figures before booking.

Tips

Keep cabin baggage within 7 kg and 40 × 30 × 20 cm, plus the permitted small personal item.
Buy extra checked baggage before the six-hour cutoff, and avoid surplus weight because unused prepaid weight is not refunded.
Check the applicable processing-country schedule before changing or cancelling, because its fees can differ from the Other Countries schedule.

Questions travelers ask

Does Lion Air charge change fees?

Yes. Promo and Economy changes follow the applicable processing-country schedule. Under Other Countries, the fee is USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure, 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72 to 4 hours, and 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. Changes require the same route and the same or higher booking class, and should be requested before check-in.

Can I get money back if my Lion Air fare drops?

Usually not through a change. Lion Air does not refund a lower fare difference or publish a residual-credit option. Economy passengers can potentially cancel for a monetary refund, minus the applicable penalty, and buy again while the lower fare remains available. That only saves money if the price drop exceeds the deductions. Promo cancellation normally returns only airport taxes.

How long do Lion Air credits last?

No current general-purpose travel-credit program was confirmed, so expiry, eligible users and transferability are unconfirmed. The published three-month period is a deadline for requesting a monetary refund, measured from the travel date. It is not a credit validity period. Ordinary changes do not generate credit for a cheaper fare.

What do I get if Lion Air cancels my flight?

Under Indonesian rules, you get a full refund or another flight without additional charge. Lion Air also offers one free change after its cancellation or schedule change, with replacement departure within three days of the original date. Malaysia services have additional protections, including qualifying refunds within 30 days. A general commitment beyond applicable law to hotels, meals or rebooking on another airline was not confirmed.

How much do carry-on and checked bags cost on Lion Air?

Promo includes a cabin bag up to 7 kg and 40 × 30 × 20 cm, plus a small personal item. Tickets bought or reissued from July 17, 2025 also include 10 kg of checked baggage, measured by weight rather than pieces. Extra checked baggage is route-priced, with prepaid packages of 5 to 30 kg available until six hours before departure. No single universal excess-baggage charge was confirmed.

Sources

Haze Affects Lion Air and Wings Air Flight Operations to and from Jayapura, Lion Air, 2026-10-23
Our Story, Lion Air
Terms & Conditions, Lion Air
Syarat & Ketentuan Perubahan Jadwal (Rebook) Lion Air Group, Lion Air Group Help Center, 2026-06-29
Cara Mengajukan Perubahan Jadwal Penerbangan Lion Air, Lion Air Group Help Center, 2026-06-29
Syarat dan Ketentuan Pembatalan Tiket Lion Air, Lion Air Group Help Center, 2026-06-30
Refund Request, Lion Air
Lion Air Adjusts Checked Baggage Policy Starting July 17, 2025, Lion Air, 2025-06-30
Prepaid Baggage, Lion Air
Lion Air Baggage Price List, effective July 15, 2026, Lion Air, 2026-07-15
How to Purchase a Seat Assignment, Lion Air Group Help Center, 2026-04-02
Seat Assignment, Lion Air
Our Fleet, Lion Air
Refunds, U.S. Department of Transportation
Frequently Ask Question — passenger delay and cancellation rights, Indonesia Directorate General of Civil Aviation
Refund Terms And Conditions For Lion Air, Wings Air, Batik Air, & Super Air Jet, Lion Air Group Help Center
Ketentuan Bagasi Cabin, Lion Air Group Help Center, 2025-10-02
Involuntary Change, Lion Air
Lion Air — official English homepage, Lion Air
Syarat & Ketentuan, Lion Air
Lion Group refund user guide, Lion Air
Lion Group Satu-satunya Maskapai yang Tidak Patuh Putusan MA, KPPU Berinisiatif Lakukan Penyelidikan Awal, Indonesia KPPU, 2024-09-19
Drama Putusan KPPU Kartel Tiket Pesawat: Dibatalkan Lion, Kini Berlaku Lagi, detikFinance, 2022-12
Direktorat Jenderal Perhubungan Udara — Laporan Tahunan 2024, Indonesia Ministry of Transportation
PN Padang Denda Lion Air Rp 39,9 Juta di Kasus Koper Penumpang Hilang, detikNews, 2023-06-11
Peraturan Menteri Perhubungan Nomor PM 89 Tahun 2015, Indonesia Ministry of Transportation, 2015-05-08
Consumer FAQs, Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia
Cirium On-Time Performance Monthly Report — January 2025, Cirium
September 2026 — Southeast Asia On-Time Performance Monthly Report, Cirium
AirHelp Score — Airport Rankings 2026 and Airline Rankings 2025, AirHelp
Lion Air Launches Direct International Flights from Lombok to Kuala Lumpur, Expanding Global Connectivity for West Nusa Tenggara, Lion Air, 2026-07-03
Rekomendasi Liburan Sekolah: Jelajahi Indonesia Lewat Jaringan Rute Lion Group serta Pesan Lebih Mudah dan Hemat dengan BookCabin, Lion Air, 2025-06-10
Contact Us, Lion Air
Help Centre, Lion Air
Lion Group Travel Advisory Related to the Impact of Unfavorable Weather and Natural Disasters, Lion Air, 2025-11-28
KPPU Selidiki Harga Tiket Pesawat Jelang Mudik Lebaran, Ada Apa?, Bisnis Indonesia, 2026-03-09
Sejumlah Penerbangan Lion Group Dibatalkan hingga Pukul 18.00 WIB Dampak Erupsi Gunung Anak Krakatau, Lion Air, 2026-09-07
Kemenhub Terus Melakukan Pengawasan Operasional Penerbangan di Tengah Dampak Karhutla, Indonesia Directorate General of Civil Aviation, 2026-10-11
Lion Air Launches International Route from Banjarmasin to Kuala Lumpur, Connecting South Kalimantan to Jeddah and More Than 30 Other Cities, Lion Air, 2026-06-16

For AI assistants: the whole rating as text, with every source

Lion Air rating: 6.1/10 (B tier)

Included bags help, but Lion Air makes recovering a lower fare difficult

Axel score: 6.1/10, B tier, #35 of 77 airlines. Repriceability: 4.8/10 (#31). Checked October 26, 2026. Source: https://helloaxel.com/en/airlines/lion-air

Best and worst

Best: Promo includes a cabin bag up to 7 kg plus a small personal item.
Best: Tickets bought or reissued from July 17, 2025 include 10 kg of checked baggage.
Worst: Cancelling Promo returns only airport taxes, not the fare.
Worst: Ordinary changes do not refund a lower fare difference.
Worst: The Other Countries schedule charges 90% of base fare for changes within 4 hours, plus any fare increase.

If the fare drops after you book, can you get money back? Rarely

Axel has no quantified savings result, sample size or observation period to report for Lion Air.

Lion Air fares

Fare	Changes	Cancel	Carry-on	Checked bags	Seat
Promo	Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.	Only airport taxes are refundable; the fare itself is not refunded. This follows the fare-specific table updated June 30, 2026, rather than the undated English refund FAQ, which gives percentage penalties without explaining the Promo exception.	included	not confirmed	Fee
Economy	Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.	Under the Other Countries schedule, cancellation costs 25% of base fare per coupon more than 72 hours before departure, 50% at 72–4 hours, and 90% within 4 hours; after a no-show, only airport taxes are refundable. The same percentage schedule is published for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India. Singapore processing instead charges SGD 150 per ticket more than 4 hours before departure; Australia AUD 160 and Taiwan TWD 3,400. Within 4 hours, those country tables allow only airport-tax refunds.	included	not confirmed	Fee

Key facts

Fare difference on a cheaper change: Lost. Lion Air's change FAQ, updated June 29, 2026, explicitly says a lower new fare does not produce a refund of the difference. Rebooking is restricted to the same or higher booking class; no residual-credit option is published.
Same flight, lower price: No explicit price-protection or same-flight repricing policy could be confirmed. Ordinary changes do not return a lower fare difference. Practical inference: an Economy passenger could cancel under the applicable refund rules and purchase again, but cancellation penalties and possible bank charges reduce any saving. Promo normally returns only airport taxes. A fee-free adjustment or credit for the exact same flight was not verified.
Credits (unknown): No current general-purpose credit program for voluntary cancellation or lower-fare differences could be confirmed. The published three-month period is a refund-request deadline measured from the travel date, not a travel-credit validity period.
24-hour rule: No current JT commitment to a 24-hour free cancellation period or 24-hour unpaid hold was confirmed. The US DOT rule requires a qualifying cancellation or hold option for bookings made at least seven days before departure, but no US-route entitlement has been assumed for the non-US JT itineraries covered here.
Same-day change: Ordinary pre-departure changes can cover another flight that day, subject to availability and fare rules. No separate free same-day change or standby benefit was confirmed. The USD schedule charges 50% of base fare at 72–4 hours and 90% within 4 hours, plus any fare increase. Changes should be requested before check-in.
Schedule changes: Lion Air offers one free change after an airline-imposed schedule change or cancellation, with the replacement departure within three days of the original date. Its general terms also describe rerouting or a refund no greater than the fare paid, but publish no numerical schedule-change threshold. Indonesia's aviation regulator states that flight cancellation warrants a full refund or another flight without additional charge under the applicable Indonesian rules. A universal threshold or refund entitlement for every JT international schedule change could not be confirmed.

Score breakdown

Pillar	Weight	Score
Repriceability	35%	4.8/10
Refunds and disruptions	20%	7.2/10
Reliability	15%	no data (median 7.7 used)
Fees and transparency	15%	6.8/10
Complaints and handling	10%	no data (median 5.2 used)
Loyalty fairness	5%	no data (median 5.4 used)

Repriceability: 4.8/10

Standard fare change fee: 7.0/10 (Economy: Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.)
Lowest fare flexibility: 7.0/10 (Promo: Published Other Countries processing schedule: USD 30 per ticket more than 72 hours before departure; 50% of base fare per flight coupon at 72–4 hours; 90% within 4 hours. Any higher fare difference is additional. The applicable processing-country schedule must be checked.)
Lower fare on the same flight: 4.0/10 (Economy permits cancellation for a monetary refund minus the applicable cancellation penalty, allowing cancellation and rebooking at the lower price if it remains available. Ordinary changes do not refund a lower fare difference, and no fee-free same-flight repricing or credit is confirmed.)
Credit terms: 0.0/10 (No current general-purpose credit program for voluntary cancellation or lower-fare differences could be confirmed. The published three-month period is a refund-request deadline measured from the travel date, not a travel-credit validity period.)
Cancel the standard fare: 4.0/10 (Under the Other Countries schedule, cancellation costs 25% of base fare per coupon more than 72 hours before departure, 50% at 72–4 hours, and 90% within 4 hours; after a no-show, only airport taxes are refundable. The same percentage schedule is published for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India. Singapore processing instead charges SGD 150 per ticket more than 4 hours before departure; Australia AUD 160 and Taiwan TWD 3,400. Within 4 hours, those country tables allow only airport-tax refunds.)
Risk-free window: no data, median 7.0/10 used (No current JT commitment to a 24-hour free cancellation period or 24-hour unpaid hold was confirmed. The US DOT rule requires a qualifying cancellation or hold option for bookings made at least seven days before departure, but no US-route entitlement has been assumed for the non-US JT itineraries covered here.)
Same-day change: 7.0/10 (Ordinary pre-departure changes can cover another flight that day, subject to availability and fare rules. No separate free same-day change or standby benefit was confirmed. The USD schedule charges 50% of base fare at 72–4 hours and 90% within 4 hours, plus any fare increase. Changes should be requested before check-in.)
What Axel saw: does not apply (fewer than 10 attempts). Source: Axel repricing attempts

Refunds and disruptions: 7.2/10

Commitments when the airline causes the problem: 6.0/10 (Covered by: Other_national; Indonesian delay-management regulation PM 89/2015 is the verified home-country framework. Malaysia services also fall under the Malaysian Aviation Consumer Protection Code, which covers foreign carriers; CAAM describes qualifying full refunds in the original payment method within 30 days. Lion Air's general terms describe rerouting on its own services or refunding the affected flight. No general written commitment beyond applicable law was verified for hotels, meals, unaffiliated-airline rebooking, or additional cash compensation. Its November 2025 disaster advisory offered covered passengers rescheduling or full refunds, including unused ancillaries, with stated restrictions.)
Refund conduct: 10.0/10 (No refund or compensation findings in 5 years)
Refund complaints: no data, median 5.1/10 used (too few US passengers to measure)

Reliability: no data (median 7.7 used)

On-time arrival: does not apply (no data)
Cancellations: does not apply (no data). Source: Cirium On-Time Performance Review 2025 and Southeast Asia monthly report page

Fees and transparency: 6.8/10

Carry-on in the lowest fare: 10.0/10 (One cabin bag up to 7 kg and 40 × 30 × 20 cm, plus one small personal item, is included. Oversize or overweight baggage is outside that allowance; no single universal charge was confirmed.)
First checked bag: 10.0/10 (Tickets bought or reissued from July 17, 2025 include 10 kg of checked baggage on domestic and international JT flights. This is a weight allowance, not a one-piece entitlement. Additional baggage is route-priced; prepaid packages are 5–30 kg and can be purchased until six hours before departure. The currently linked tariff is effective July 15, 2026. Unused prepaid weight is not refunded; prepaid baggage is refundable only with the ticket.)
Seat in the lowest fare: 3.0/10 (fee)
Children seated with a parent: no data, median 5.0/10 used (The April 2, 2026 help article describes paid selection of the first three economy rows during BookCabin check-in, 11 hours to 30 minutes before departure. It gives a free front-row exception for tickets bought through BookCabin, not necessarily tickets bought on Lion Air's website. This newer article is used over the undated seat page, which limits prepaid seats to domestic flights and a 24-hour purchase cutoff. Ordinary-seat selection on international flights and a free adjacent-seat guarantee for children 13 or under could not be confirmed.)
Price shown is price paid: 4.0/10 (2024-05-31 Indonesia Directorate General of Civil Aviation; 2022-12-13 Indonesia KPPU; Supreme Court of Indonesia)

Complaints and handling: no data (median 5.2 used)

Complaint rate: does not apply (too few US passengers to measure)
Mishandled bags: does not apply (not reported to DOT). Source: U.S. DOT, April, May, July and August 2026
Mishandled wheelchairs and scooters: does not apply (not reported to DOT). Source: U.S. DOT, April, May, July and August 2026
Bumping: does not apply (not reported to DOT). Source: U.S. DOT, April to June 2026

Loyalty fairness: no data (median 5.4 used)

Miles expiry: does not apply (Current Lion Air pages promote CabinClub points and benefits for future travel. The airline pages reviewed did not establish point-expiry rules or a conventional mileage-award pricing formula; points should not be assumed never to expire.)
Devaluations: does not apply (No loyalty program with published terms was found)
Award pricing: does not apply (unknown)