Indonesia's TransNusa Aviation’s inaugural flight from Bali touched down at Melbourne Airport this morning, giving Victorians a new way to reach Australia's most popular overseas holiday destination.
The service adds more than 70,000 seats a year to the route, which has grown by more than 35 per cent since 2019 to become one of Melbourne Airport’s largest international markets.
Melbourne – Denpasar is also Melbourne Airport’s most competitive route with six carriers operating an average of eight flights a day in each direction.
TransNusa is using a 174-seat Airbus A320 to fly between Melbourne and Bali four times a week, departing Melbourne on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with return flights from Denpasar on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
From the 16th of November the service will move to a daily frequency taking the total number of annual seats to 120,000.
TransNusa’s schedule has been designed to help maximise holiday time, with an early morning departure from Melbourne putting beach lovers on the ground in Bali in time for lunch, while a late evening departure means holiday makers can soak up the sun all day before their flight home.
Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus said TransNusa’s onward network from Denpasar would also give travellers the chance to experience more of Indonesia.
“Bali remains the number one destination for Australians, but there’s a lot more to Indonesia beyond Bali,” she said.
“Indonesia is an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands and TransNusa’s network connects passengers with onward destinations including the dive and reef islands of Wakatobi and Manado, Lombok and Komodo Island just to name a few.
“We’re thrilled to welcome TransNusa to Melbourne’s growing international family, with more than 40 carriers giving traveller more choice and affordability than ever.”
TransNusa Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Bernard Francis said the airline was excited to launch in Melbourne.
“TransNusa is proud to become part of the Melbourne Airport family to connect these two vibrant cities, offering travellers a reliable, value-driven alternative on one of the region’s most popular travel corridors,’’ he said.
“We are also excited to be able to extend a Bali and “Beyond Bali” island vacations experience, including the internationally acclaimed destinations such as Phuket (Thailand) and Singapore.”