The Indonesian low-cost carrier AirAsia is launching two new international routes with direct flights from Denpasar to Phuket (Thailand) and Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia). Currently, no airline operates flights on these routes.
While the demand for Phuket is quite clear, there were also significant reasons to resume direct flights to Kota Kinabalu. This coastal city is located on the largest island in Asia, Kalimantan, but on the Malaysian side rather than the Indonesian part. In February last year, AirAsia launched a direct flight there from Jakarta, achieving a load factor of over 94% during this period. Therefore, they decided to add another route, this time from Denpasar. AirAsia previously operated this route, which was a popular option for visa runs, but the flights were later discontinued.
The first planes will fly from Denpasar to Kota Kinabalu on August 9th. The service will be available, as before, three times a week: on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. On August 10th, the first flight will take place on the Denpasar-Phuket route, which will also operate three times a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Tickets for these flights are available now. The one-way ticket price for the Denpasar-Phuket route starts at 1,659,000 rupiahs (including only carry-on luggage - 7kg). The flight duration is 3 hours and 50 minutes.
A flight to the Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu will cost 1,990,000 rupiahs and take 2 hours and 40 minutes.
According to Indonesia's Statistics Bureau (BPS), Malaysian passport holders were the majority among foreign tourists in 2023, with almost 2 million visitors, specifically 1,901,242 people. Meanwhile, the Malaysian Immigration Department reported that Indonesian tourists ranked third in 2023, totaling 91,917 people.
BPS also noted a significant increase in the number of Thai tourists in Indonesia, up 82.88 percent, or 111,786 visits in 2023, compared to 61,128 visits in 2022.
According to AirAsia's CEO Veranita Yosephine Sinaga, Indonesia AirAsia aims to continue launching new popular routes. Other airlines are also working on expanding their services. Recently, new direct flights to Indonesia from Abu Dhabi, Busan, South Korea, and Taiwan were announced.
Additionally, starting June 14, Batik Air opened a new route from Canberra to Denpasar. As a result, Ngurah Rai Airport now serves nine direct flights to Australia. The one-way ticket price starts at 5,569,150 rupiahs. Flights from Cairns, Queensland, will follow, with AirAsia beginning services on August 14.
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