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Indonesia AirAsia has touched down in Adelaide after its inaugural flight from Denpasar.
The low-cost carrier is competing with Jetstar on the Adelaide-Bali route, operating four return services per week on 180-seat A320-200s and adding around 74,000 seats per year. The first flight, QZ420, arrived in Adelaide just before 6:20am on Thursday aboard PK-AZW.
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“Indonesia AirAsia will provide greater choice for travellers as Adelaide’s first non-stop Asia-based low-cost carrier since 2015,” said Adelaide Airport managing director Brenton Cox.
“This also opens up each way low cost one- and two-stop options via AirAsia’s formidable network throughout Southeast Asia and beyond including from Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Korea, Japan and India.
“The connections via Bali are excellent and it is very cost effective to continue on to other destinations such as Jakarta, Bangkok, Phuket and even Komodo Island. Development of affordable travel is vital to the growth of our market and to achieving our ambitious network targets.”
Bali is Adelaide’s largest and fastest-growing international destination, and Indonesia AirAsia’s fourth Australian destination after Perth, Darwin, and Cairns.
Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, Acting CEO Indonesia AirAsia, thanked the airport, the state government and the South Australian Tourism Commission for supporting the new service.
“In addition to offering direct access to Bali, an ever-popular favourite, this new service expands the options for travellers seeking an affordable gateway to AirAsia’s network of over 130 destinations across Asia and beyond,” he said.
“We are excited to introduce Adelaide as a new destination for the millions of guests across the AirAsia network, while offering South Australians seamless access to many of their favourite destinations across Asia, including Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Singapore, and Phuket.
“Travellers can also take advantage of onward connections beyond Bali to explore other remarkable parts of Indonesia, such as Jakarta, the bustling capital, or Labuan Bajo, home to the iconic Komodo National Park.”
Adelaide has been bolstered by the return of Emirates flights to Dubai in October for the first time since the pandemic, with China Southern also bringing back flights to Guangzhou.
Qantas is also set to launch a seasonal route to Auckland in October, the first time the national carrier has flown international “red-tail” services from Adelaide since 2013.
The airport exceeded pre-COVID-19 passenger capacities in the 2023–24 financial year, with 7.6 million domestic and around 960,000 international passengers over the 12 months to the end of June.
