Overview
- Virgin Australia launched the new Canberra–Denpasar route on Monday with three 160-seat return flights a week, operating seasonally from April to January.
- The airline introduced limited-time sale fares from Canberra to Bali at $449 and reported strong early bookings for seats first offered in January.
- Canberra Airport said this is the first time an Australian carrier has flown an international service from the capital, and the link also serves regional NSW towns such as Cooma, Batemans Bay, Bega, Merimbula and Jindabyne.
- Aviation experts and officials say the service will be judged on load factors and fares, with the route likely to expand to five or seven weekly flights during peak periods if demand holds and prices stay competitive with Sydney departures.
- The route offers a test case for Canberra's international growth after earlier short-lived services such as Batik Air, and success could prompt extensions from Bali to hubs like Singapore and drive more inbound tourism and economic activity for the ACT.