General News
17 June, 2024
AirAsia’s $31m uplift
THE arrival of AirAsia Indonesia in August is expected to give the Far North’s economy a $31 million a year boost.
The budget carrier will fly three times a week – Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – between Bali and Cairns, carrying up to 28,000 passengers annually. It will use an A320 with 180 seats. Fares have gone on sale from $159 one-way.
Cairns Airport chief executive officer Richard Barker said, at last week’s announcement, the three-year deal would position the city as Australia’s northern most international gateway.
He said a key part of the service was the direct connections the airline had to other destinations from its hub and using other AirAsia brands at Bali’s Denpasar airport.
Mr Barker said European travellers, especially the young, had Thailand, Bali and the tropical north on their bucket list, and the hub provided direct services.
He said it would bring competition and demand to the route – Jetstar also flies four times a week direct to Bali.
Mr Barker said when Virgin started flying to Japan from Cairns, the route – also serviced by Jetstar – grew. AirAsia head of Indonesia affairs and policy Eddy Soemawilaga said Cairns marked the third route by AirAsia Indonesia to Australia, following the successful launch of routes from Bali and Jakarta to Perth, Western Australia, two years ago.
“Both of these routes have achieved strong passenger numbers on their inaugural services and continue to prove popular,” he said.
“With today’s announcement, we are now flying more services than ever before to and from Australia thanks to popular demand.
“Our services from Perth to Bali are always in huge demand and we are now back to flying pre-pandemic levels of up to four times daily on that route.
“We hope to be able to build the momentum of flights to and from Bali with this new Bali to Cairns route.
“In the initial period, we will operate Denpasar-Cairns flights three times a week, offering an incredible launch fare starting from $159, which as Asia’s low fare leader, this fare is expected to, not only stimulate air travel, but also contribute positively to the industry’s growth, playing a pivotal role in making the Bali-Cairns route one of our most popular and favourite flight routes for this year.”
AirAsia Indonesia chief executive officer Veranita Yosephine said the airline was thrilled to be flying to Far North Queensland for the first time.
“Starting with three weekly services, we hope to grow the number of flights in the future, based on demand,” she said.
“This new route is also an important low-cost entranceway to more leisure and adventure across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea and other popular destinations across our group network.”
Indonesian Consul General in Sydney – Vedi Kurnia Buana – who played a key role in securing the new service, welcomed “AirAsia Indonesia’s efforts to support the acceleration of the tourism industry’s growth by expanding connectivity through direct flights connecting Bali with Cairns, two popular tourist destinations”.
“This route is expected to enhance cooperation between Indonesia and Australia, particularly to north Queensland, with Bali serving as the preferred gateway for millions of tourists entering Indonesia from southeast Asia and beyond each year.”
Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive officer Mark Olsen said south-east Asia was growing quickly with 1.5 million people travelling to Australia in a market worth $5.5 billion a year, yet Cairns was capturing just one per cent.
He said the AirAsia Indonesia services would help grow the pie.
