iscover
Batik Air Malaysia has launched a new service connecting Perth with Auckland, an extension of existing services between Perth and Kuala Lumpur.
The first OD195 service from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland via Perth landed in Auckland last week aboard a Batik Air 737 MAX 8 and returned to Kuala Lumpur via Perth as OD196. The service will operate six times per week.
This is the second direct flight between Perth and Auckland, with Air New Zealand also operating its own service. According to Perth Airport CEO Kate Holsgrove, the new route adds to Perth’s importance as a hub for Western Australia.
“There is already strong business and tourism travel between Perth and Kuala Lumpur and adding Auckland as an onward destination will further stimulate market demand,” she said.
“New Zealand is Western Australia’s third largest visitor market with more than 51,000 visitors coming for the year [ended] March 2023, spending $96 million in Western Australia. This new, non-stop option will only grow this contribution to our economy.
“The new Auckland service also opens up new opportunities for passengers wanting an efficient travel route between Malaysia and New Zealand.”
Western Australia is home to around 85,000 New Zealanders, and Scott Tasker, chief customer officer at Auckland Airport, said the Batik Air route will help satisfy growing VFR demand.
“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,” he said.
“In part that’s likely to reflect Western Australia’s popularity among New Zealanders making a more permanent move across the Tasman.”
