Crew from Batik Air after the airline's inaugural flight to Auckland.
Crew from Batik Air after the airline's inaugural flight to Auckland.
Malaysia-based Batik Air has started flying the Auckland-Perth route and with connections to Bali, another destination popular with Kiwi travellers, Air New Zealand faces more competition.
Batik Air is flying direct six times a week to Perth and on to Bali and Kuala Lumpur, adding another option to Western Australiafor Kiwi travellers.
At present, Air New Zealand is the only airline flying direct to Perth from New Zealand, currently using aircraft leased from Wamos Air, although it is bringing back its own Dreamliner aircraft at the end of October.
Batik Air has promotional one-way economy fares from Auckland (AKL) to Perth starting at $435, AKL to Bali at $584 and AKL to Kuala Lumpur at $636. Business class fares are $1605, $2472 and $2076 on the same routes.
The Auckland-Perth flight is operated using the brand-new Boeing 737-8 aircraft, which is fitted with 12 business and 150 economy class seats. The seven- to eight-hour flight is the longest flight operated to this country by a narrow-body aircraft.
Batik’s flight to Perth leaves at 7am and touches down in Western Australia at 10.40am local time. Onward flights to Bali are scheduled to get travellers in to Denpasar by 5.20pm local time and Kuala Lumpur at 6.10pm.
The Bali flights are shaping up to be another popular alternative to Air New Zealand’s direct flights from Auckland. At present, Kiwi travellers looking to save on fares travel to Australia and on to Bali on low-cost carriers Jetstar and Virgin Australia.
Scott Tasker, chief customer officer at Auckland Airport, said the new connection to Perth reflected growing demand for the Western Australian destination.
“Pre-pandemic around 143,000 people travelled between Auckland and Perth. We’ve seen a really strong recovery in those numbers, which are back to around 96 per cent of 2019 traveller numbers, which is higher than the 77 per cent for the overall international recovery. In part that’s likely to reflect Western Australia’s popularity among New Zealanders making a more permanent move across the Tasman,” said Tasker.
Around 14 per cent – or approximately 85,000 – New Zealanders resident in Australia call Western Australia home, driving strong VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travel.
A Batik Air Boeing 737-8 at Auckland International Airport.
“Western Australia is also a great destination in and of itself and the breakfast-time departure from Auckland means you’ll be arriving in Perth in time for lunch,” said Tasker
“Again, Bali has been a very popular destination for New Zealanders, offering a unique blend of culture, food, outdoor activities and fun nightlife in a tropical setting that gives it huge appeal to a broad range of travellers.”
Between 2015 and 2019, traveller numbers between Auckland and Bali have grown 239 per cent, peaking at nearly 140,000 pre-pandemic when both Air New Zealand and Emirates were operating non-stop flights there.
Air New Zealand resumed a seasonal service to Bali in March and has flown up to five times a week. The season ends on October 27.
Flights with the airline to Bali (with a flight time of 9h 20m) are listed on Google Flights for around $970 to $1070 for mid-October.
Batik Air formerly operated as Malindo Air and is a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Lion Group. Batik lists 16 of the near-new 737-MAX8s in its fleet, seven older-model 737-800s, two Airbus A330s and eight ATR turboprops.
The airline was rebranded in line with the Lion Group’s goal to establish a common identity for full-service airlines within the group, to more successfully compete against Garuda.
Batik’s standard economy seats have a 32-inch pitch. Meals must be pre-purchased or bought on board, although most are priced at $10 to $12. Batik advises that in-flight entertainment in economy is not available on all aircraft.
The addition of Batik Air’s connection provides a third option through to Kuala Lumpur, joining Malaysian Airlines’ direct service flying eight times per week and AirAsia X flying seven times a week via Sydney.
Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
