Air New Zealand Opens Link to Bali

Air New Zealand (Air NZ) is to improve access for leisure passengers to the popular holiday destination of Bali with the introduction of a twice weekly service between Auckland and Denpasar. The flight will initially operate on a seasonal basis during the peak demand period between June and October, but Air NZ has not ruled out a year-round service, subject to demand.

Bali is already a popular destination for Kiwi travellers and in the past year an estimated 35,000 O&D passengers travelled between New Zealand and Denpasar Airport, the main gateway to this region of Indonesia. Air NZ’s main competitor in this market is Virgin Australia which currently dominates traffic.

Air NZ plans to use a 228-seat Boeing 767-300 on the new route with capacity for 24 Business Class and 204 Economy passengers. The first flight is scheduled to operate on June 20, 2012. Although it is a relatively long sector length, the direct flight is a tremendous benefit over existing connection services.

“Our flight time of eight and a half hours is a significant improvement on the indirect services offered by competitors that can involve long layovers and a total journey time of at least 14 and sometimes more than 24 hours,” said Rob Fyfe, Chief Executive Officer, Air New Zealand.

Air NZ last served Bali back in the 1990s using smaller 767-200 equipment. “Bali has a stable tropical climate and great value food and accommodation, making it a really affordable way for New Zealanders to enjoy a resort style holiday in Asia at a fraction of the price of other destinations,” added Rob Fyfe.