Published: September 22, 2022
Today, thousands of Australian travelers woke to the news that Virgin Australia will be relaunching its Adelaide-Bali flight service. The announcement comes as welcome news to travelers from South Australia who are grateful to have more airline providers offering the route. Until now, the direct route had been provided by Jetstar and Qantas.
Virgin Australia announced Wednesday 21st September, with tickets available for sale immediately. The direct flight service will resume on 14th December. The schedule will start as a daily service from 14th to 31st December. As of January 2023, the service will run three times weekly. The service will provide over 2500 seats every week.
Travelers who can travel at a moment’s notice are being rewarded with incredible flight deals. Travelers who book before 25th September can secure flights at AUD 399 return. Alistair Hartley, Virgin Australia’s Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, said ‘Adelaide is incredibly important to Virgin Australia, it’s our sixth largest port by scheduled flights, so we know this will be welcome news for South Australians and the perfect opportunity to get back to the skies with our great value fares and award-winning crew’.
Similarly, the Tourism Minister for South Australia, Zoe Bettison, said, ‘The state government is working with Adelaide airport and airlines to grow capacity and provide greater connections globally as we aim to recover our once $8.1bn visitor economy’.
According to Virgin Australia, demand for flights to Bali has increased by 190% on pre-pandemic travel figures. Speaking to News.com.au, the Managing Director for Adelaide Airport, Brenton Cox, shared his thanks with the airline. He commended their ‘vote of confidence’ in the tourism market in South Australia. He said, ‘There is significant pent-up demand for South Australians wanting to head out and see the world, some for the first time in three years…It’s exciting to see more international capacity deployed to fulfill this demand’.
Earlier in the year, Virgin Australia announced the creation of a new flight route from Gold Coast to Bali. The flight, connecting two world-class surfing destinations, is set to launch in March 2023. It has been confirmed that the ticket price will include surfboards as a form of standard checked baggage, rather than paying an additional fee to carry sports equipment.
The airline website reads ‘Surfboards enclosed in a protective hard case bag, with fins removed, that weigh less than 23kg and are shorter than 3m incur no excess baggage fees and are considered part of your checked baggage allowance when you book a Choice or Flex fare with Virgin Australia’. Which was exceptionally well received by surfers who head to Bali’s best destinations like Canggu and Uluwatu.
After 2-years away, Virgin Australia returned to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in June this year. The inaugural flight was personally welcomed to the tarmac at Denpasar by Governor Wayan Koster and other airport officials. Australians remain the most frequent international travelers to Bali, alongside citizens from India and the UK.
More direct flight routes from Australia’s biggest cities have been announced in recent days. Earlier this week, Batik Air announced the relaunch of the non-stop Perth-Bali route. The service runs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Bali Airport manager Handy Heryudhitiawan told reporters ‘Looking at the current trends, the most foreigners in the January-August 2022 period who came were dominated by Australia with 277,034 passengers, then India with 71,613 passengers and the United Kingdom with 61,070 passengers. Therefore, Batik Air is not wrong to open its inaugural flight from Perth to Bali’
The main peak season is over, and tourism in Bali can take a moment of respite before the Christmas and New Year holidays begin in just a few months. Thousands of travelers from Australia will head to the Island of the Gods to celebrate the end of another year; these newly announced direct flights will surely help Bali hit and possibly surpass tourism targets for 2022.
