Batik Air launched its inaugural flight from to Bali from India.
Witnessed by Lion Air management, Tourism Ministry officials and members of Bali’s Airport Management team, the new flight departed from Chennai at 10:32 pm local time, bound for Denpasar via Kuala Lumpur.
The new flight will run daily from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur, scheduled for departure at 8.55 a.m. and then continuing to Denpasar at 4.35 p.m. The return flight departs from Denpasar at 11:10 p.m. to Kuala Lumpur, and then sets off to Chennai at 6:20 a.m.
The route is serviced by Boeing 737-900 aircraft, configured with 180-seat capacity on all flights between Bali and Chennai.
In a statement to the Jakarta Globe, Indonesian Minister for Tourism Arief Yahya gave his insight on the expansion of new routes to India by Indonesian airlines:
“Essentially, we have asked airline companies to be more aggressive in opening new routes to Indonesia’s tourism destinations,†said Mr. Arief. “Thank you, Batik Air,” he added.
Andy M. Saladin, public relations manager at the Lion Air Group, offered his perspective in the same publication:
“Batik Air is providing customers with more varied flight options. With the new route to Chennai, we hope to support tourism growth in Indonesia by inviting more foreign tourists,” he said.
Batik Air, which is the Indonesian subsidiary of Lion Air, has recently opened new routes to Perth, Australia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The airline is also preparing a range of new flights to China.
