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Virgin Australia has applied for additional capacity to Indonesia, with plans to launch services between Perth and Bali.
The airline has written to the International Air Services Commission for 5,086 seats per week in each direction on the Indonesia route, with an eye to expanding its existing Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane services, as well as operating flights from Perth to Denpasar.
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Virgin intends to fly an extra 28 Bali services per week in total, with four more each from Sydney and Melbourne, three from Brisbane, and 17 from Perth.
“The additional capacity will support the expansion of Virgin Australia’s scheduled passenger services between Australia and Indonesia, including increased frequencies from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Denpasar and the introduction of services between Perth and Denpasar,” wrote Henry Coles, head of airline partnerships and international relations.
“The capacity will be utilised by Virgin Australia and is sought for a period of five years from the date of the commission’s determination.
“The proposed services will be operated by Virgin Australia using B737 MAX 8 aircraft configured with 182 seats.”
An entry by Virgin onto Perth–Denpasar would make it the sixth airline to operate the route, alongside Batik Air, Batik Air Malaysia, Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar, and TransNusa. It would also be Virgin’s second international destination from Perth, the other being Doha.
Virgin currently holds around 20 per cent of Australian airlines’ capacity to Indonesia under existing bilateral air service agreements, with the remainder taken up by Qantas and Jetstar.
Perth Airport in 2025–26 saw a new record of 18,387,992 passengers, an increase of 5.2 per cent over 2025, with international passengers up 8.1 per cent to 5.55 million, regional passengers up 6.0 per cent to 6.6 million, and interstate passengers up 1.9 per cent to 6.22 million.
The airport saw a number of new and expanded routes across the financial year, including to Asia, Africa, New Zealand, and the eastern states.
“Key international milestones included China Southern moving to year-round Guangzhou services, Qantas launching Johannesburg and Auckland, ANA increasing Perth–Tokyo to daily flights over the peak northern winter season, and Jetstar launching Perth–Manila,” Perth Airport said in a July statement.
“TransNusa also expanded Perth–Bali to double daily, while further frequency growth from Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Air New Zealand and Philippine Airlines added more choice and capacity for Western Australians and inbound visitors.
“Domestically, Qantas’ new services to Newcastle and Hobart further expanded Perth’s direct interstate network.”
It comes as Perth continues its “One Airport” transformation program to centralise all operations within one precinct.
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