AirAsia enters crowded Melbourne–Bali market

“Bali continues to be the most popular international holiday destination for Australians, and we’re excited to give Victorians another great value option when planning their next escape,” said Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, general manager of Indonesia AirAsia.

“This new service marks Indonesia AirAsia’s first entry into Melbourne and supports our goal of providing greater, more affordable and flexible access between Indonesia and Australia.

“It also strengthens social and economic ties between our two countries, supports tourism growth, and creates more opportunities for travellers to experience the rich culture, cuisine and natural beauty of both destinations.”

More than 1.04 million passengers travelled between Melbourne and Bali in 2025, making it Victoria’s number one international destination.

According to Jim Parashos, chief of aviation at Melbourne Airport, AirAsia’s “extensive network will allow travellers to explore beyond Bali”.

“Even though it’s such a popular market we are still seeing passenger numbers between Melbourne and Bali increase by more than 13 per cent year-on-year, which highlights the appetite for new services,” he said.

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“The beauty of Bali lies in the fact it’s a six-hour flight from Melbourne that often costs less to get to than domestic destinations such as Perth, making it a really attractive offering for budget conscious travellers and families.

“We’re seeing the benefits of more competition in these international markets flowing through to travellers in the way of cheaper airfares and more choice, which is a great outcome for everyone.”

Melbourne marks AirAsia’s third route between Australia and Bali, alongside Perth and Adelaide. It comes as the low-cost airline group axes Darwin services to redeploy capacity elsewhere in Australia.

Perth will see four daily year-round Bali flights and double daily services to Kuala Lumpur, while as of 21 March, Adelaide has risen from four weekly Bali services to seven, increasing to 10 during peak periods and creating more than 56,000 seats per year.

“Australia is an incredibly important market for AirAsia, and we are continuing to strengthen our network in a disciplined way, utilising our aircraft for popular and high-capacity routes where there is increasing demand,” said Amanda Woo, chief commercial officer of AirAsia X.

“The scale of what we are building in Australia is significant. We are not just adding seats, we are giving Australians genuinely affordable access to Asia and the world, from four major cities, with more to come.”

The suspension of Darwin flights comes around a year after their launch, with Darwin–Bali having commenced in March 2025 and Darwin–Kuala Lumpur since June.