Perth must ultimately reach saturation point with respect to the number of carriers operating the PER/DPS route but the news is certainly promising for the East Coast of Oz - especially with the A330-200 being used giving another "wide-body experience".
From yesterday's Asian E-Travel Blackboard:
Indonesian Batavia to service Australia
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Batavia Air (BTV) announced it will start direct services to Australia, offering daily flights from Denpasar to Perth on a date yet to be posted.
"We are so pleased that we can now offer our services to the Western Australian market," BTV director Hasudungan Pandiangan said.
"Bali is always a popular destination for the Western Australians and we are proud to finally service Perth in our network."
The airline will target the young adult and family market, hoping to posit itself as the "value-added airline" Mr Pandiangan added.
The announcement comes after the Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Indonesia and Australia was amended to give airlines from each country an extra 4,000 seats per week.
BTV will use the additional capacity to service Perth, with plans to move into Sydney and Melbourne at a later date.
The Perth service will use BTV's Airbus A319, while the airline will operate its brand new A330-200 for Sydney and Melbourne.
The daily flight schedule will see planes arrive into Perth at 7.05am, departing for Bali an hour later for an arrival into Denpasar before midday.