Western Australians will soon have more choice when flying to Bali with the return of Indonesian airline, Citilink, to Perth.
As well as resuming daily Perth-Bali flights, Citilink will introduce a brand new route between Perth and Indonesian capital Jakarta, making it just the second carrier – after Indonesia AirAsia – to fly the route.
A subsidiary of national airline Garuda Indonesia, the low-cost carrier will bring back its Perth-Bali flights on 19 July 2023.
Operating three times per week, the Perth-Jakarta service will commence ten days later on 29 July 2023.
Citilink will utilise its A320 aircraft on both routes.
“It’s great that Citilink is returning, especially given that these services will bring almost 190,000 additional seats to the market, which is fantastic news for those travelling for leisure, business or education,” Perth Airport Acting CEO Kate Holsgrove said.
“Indonesia is our nearest neighbour and one of the most popular tourism destinations for Western Australians.
“And as a significant trading partner with a population of 273 million, these new services to Indonesia only brings further business and trade opportunities.”
Aussies valued
Citilink Indonesia CEO Dewa Rai said the airline was confident in the new services “considering that tourists from Australia are one of the highest number of tourists visiting Indonesia in 2022”.
According to Indonesian Government data, Australia was the fourth largest source market for visitor arrivals to the Southeast Asian nation in 2022.
Echoing Holsgrove’s remarks, Dewa added that the services would boost more than just two-way tourism for Indonesia and Australia.
“The opening of these new international routes is expected to improve bilateral relations between the two countries so that they can increase the potential for cooperation in various sectors such as culture, economy, politics, social and so many more,” Dewa stated.
Citilink’s Perth-Bali service will depart PER at 0730, while its Perth-Jakarta service will depart at 0130 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
In June, Indonesia announced it will be officially ending visa-free travel to Bali for all but ASEAN nations.
