Indonesian carrier Lion Air will order more Boeing 737s at next month’s Singapore air show to add to the fleet of 122 Boeing 737-900ERs already under contract. The aircraft will support the airline’s ambition to spread itself across Asia with franchised affiliates, the same strategy that’s being used by budget airlines from neighboring countries: Malaysia’s AirAsia, Singapore’s Tiger Airways and the Jetstar subsidiary of Australia’s Qantas, all of which operate Airbus A320s.

China will tighten last year’s restrictions on rampant airline growth, refusing to accept new applications from any kind of airline until 2010 and limiting aircraft purchases. The new policy abolishes earlier exceptions under which the civil aviation administration would consider applications for new freight carriers and passenger airlines serving underdeveloped parts of the country. No more than three new airlines will be approved each year from the backlog of applications received before the original limits were announced in August.

Air China is poised to become the world’s sixth-largest airline, outranking Northwest Airlines and British Airways, as its parent prepares to bid for control of struggling China Eastern. The parent company says it plans comprehensive cooperation between the two airlines, not a full merger, but analysts note that integration of the businesses is the most logical and likely outcome, even if the separate brands survive, as is the case with Air France-KLM.