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Rebranded airline Batik Air Malaysia will launch a new three-times-a-week service from Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur in July.
The mid-market carrier – previously known as Malindo Air – will challenge Oneworld’s Malaysia Airlines, which has its own five-times-a-week service on the same route.
Baltik’s service will fly from the Malaysian capital to SA on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, returning the other way on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The new route will provide SA residents with the potential to connect onwards to more than 45 Batik Air destinations.
Adelaide Airport Managing Director, Brenton Cox, said, “Batik Air, Malaysia offers connections through Kuala Lumpur across its network for travellers wanting to continue to other destinations throughout South East Asia, China, Japan and India. Batik is a full-service airline, so baggage is included in your fare.
“The airline previously operated a one-stop service via Bali under its previous Malindo Air banner, but this is the first time it has offered a non-stop service to and from Adelaide.”
While no announcement has been made as to what aircraft it will be using, it’s likely to be its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8s.
Late last year, Cox appeared on the Australian Aviation Podcast, where he argued Australia wasn’t doing enough to encourage true tourists to return post-COVID.
“Right now, probably most of the people coming from overseas are doing so to visit friends and relatives or for essential business,” he said. “The big free, independent travellers haven’t quite made their way here yet.”
Cox said he believed Australia’s COVID-19 response — which saw state borders open and close and a high-profile incident involving Novak Djokovic — deterred casual visitors.
He said, “I just remember looking at the scenes when Djokovic was being booted out of the Australian Open. And at that moment, you went, ‘Wow, it’s a lot of eyeballs on this.’
“And there are a lot of people who — similar to the state border risk — thought, ‘Well, if I come to this country, am I going to be trapped? Or am I going to be stuck in a detention centre?’”
The new route between Adelaide and Kuala Lumpur is one of a number announced recently.
Australian Aviation reported last week how Air Vanuatu is launching a direct service from Brisbane to Espiritu Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu.
The Brisbane-Santo flights, operated on a 144-seater Airbus A320 by Solomon Airlines on behalf of Air Vanuatu, will begin on 1 June and operate once per week on a Thursday, departing Brisbane at 10:30am and returning at 5:10pm.
Santo is one of Vanuatu’s more popular holiday destinations, and according to Air Vanuatu acting CEO Joseph Laloyer, the direct connection will make it easier for Australian travellers to reach the country’s northern outer islands and increase total airlift capacity between Vanuatu and Australia.
The Brisbane route will be the only destination outside Vanuatu from Santo International Airport, which currently sees Air Vanuatu services operating to the capital of Port Vila and to other islands within the country.
