Jake Nelson

The carrier will operate A320-200 aircraft on the route from 20 March, starting at three times per week before increasing to four times per week from 12 April and daily from 1 June. In total, the service will add more than 127,000 seats between Perth and Bali per year.

The ATR 72-600, ZK-MZG, entered service on Thursday with a maiden flight from Christchurch to Invercargill, having touched down on 29 December after a week-long ferry flight from Toulouse via Heraklion, Riyadh, Oman, Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur, Denpasar, Darwin, and Brisbane.

In a submission to the International Air Services Commission (IASC), Simon Westaway, CEO of the Australian Airports Association (AAA), said the proposed 28 weekly flights to Doha “present a compelling opportunity to enhance Australia’s international aviation network”.

The new services, SQ265/266, will operate on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday from Brisbane to Singapore using A350-900 medium-haul aircraft, leaving Singapore early in the morning and returning in the evening.

The $8 million facility, backed by Victorian government investment, will operate 24/7 and be able to handle 100,000 tonnes of freight per year, compared to the 10,000 tonnes of freight processed at Avalon’s existing facilities in the 2023 financial year.

Wealth Creation has lodged the application against Koala, which gained some press last year as a potential new competitor in domestic aviation following the collapse of Bonza. A hearing in the Supreme Court of Victoria is scheduled for 22 January.