Air New Zealand (Air NZ) has confirmed it will again operate services between Auckland and Denpasar following the success of this year’s flights. In fact the airline confirms that the 2013 schedule will last three weeks longer in 2013 with flights being offered twice weekly using a Boeing 767-300ER from June 1, 2013 until October 15, 2013, subject to regulatory approvals.
The flag carrier resumed flights on the route in June this year having previously served the route on a regular basis up until October 1997. Its four month series of twice weekly flights lasted until this month but the carrier has been surprised by the uptake of tickets, particularly during the school holiday periods and says there is clear demand for a second season.
Air New Zealand Group General Manager Australasia, Bruce Parton, says New Zealanders have jumped at the opportunity to get to Bali and figures for this winter show a 38 per cent increase in Kiwis travelling to the island compared with the 2011 winter.
Bali is already a popular destination for Kiwi travellers and in 2011, an estimated 32,000 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 with its connecting services via Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Air NZ will use a 228-seat Boeing 767-300 on the new route with capacity for 24 Business Class and 204 Economy passengers. It is a relative long flight at around eight and a half hours, but the direct offering provides tremendous benefits over existing connecting services.
“Our direct service to Denpasar is a hassle free and considerably quicker alternative to options offered by other carriers, which often involve lengthy layovers and total journey times ranging anywhere from 14 to 24 hours. More than a third of our seats to Bali for the 2012 season sold within the first week so we’re expecting them to be incredibly popular once again,” said Bruce Parton.
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