Batik Air ramping up flights from Perth and Melbourne

Indonesian airline Batik Air (formerly known as Malindo Air) is setting its sights on connecting Perth to short-range destinations in Southeast Asia by increasing flights to both Bali and Kuala Lumpur.

A new four-times weekly service between Perth and Bali sees Batik Air join a highly competitive direct route already served regularly by Jetstar and AirAsia Indonesia.

Flying its two-class single-aisle Boeing 737, Batik Air features 12 business class seats in a 2-2 configuration, a layout similar to Virgin Australia but with an extra row. 

Batik Air offers three rows of business class seats at the front of its Boeing 737 aircraft.

Business class seats will be domestic-style and don’t lie flat but rather offer 38” pitch in a dedicated cabin in front of 150 economy class seats in rows of 3-3.

Inflight entertainment is provided via fold-up screens at each business class seat, with USB charging ports at-hand and complimentary meals served on crockery appropriate to the time of day.

Passengers in premium seats will also enjoy preflight access to Swissport lounges including the Aspire Lounge in Perth, The House in Sydney and Melbourne, along with The Lounge in Brisbane.

Perth's Aspire Lounge debuted a new look earlier this year.

“Bali is a major attraction and a renowned holiday destination among Australians,” said Lion Air Group Strategy Director, Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy.

“We are ramping up our capacity, which will allow us to capture the significant pent-up demand for travel, after the prolonged period of hibernation.”

Batik’s Bali flight OD192 now pushes back in Perth at 7am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday each week, arriving at the Indonesian holiday hotspot at 10:45am. The return OD193 takes off at 1:30pm, returning to Perth just after 5pm local time.

Business class seats offer generous recline but do not lie flat.

Further, Batik has also ramped up frequencies between Perth and Kuala Lumpur to a daily service.

Perth is not the only Australian city on the Batik Air radar, with a three-month seasonal service linking Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur scheduled from 6 December 2022 until 6 February 2023.

Like Perth, flight times vary depending on the day of the week, with OD174 departing Melbourne on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 9:05pm, touching down in Kuala Lumpur at 2:40am the following morning.

On the other three days of the week, flight OD176 sets off from the Victorian capital at 7:20am, landing in Malaysia at 12:55pm.

Travellers from Sydney and Brisbane will also see Batik Air in its skies, with the airline offering a daily service from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur via Bali, starting from 12 December; while similar services from Brisbane will fly four times weekly, climbing to daily over peak periods.