For decades Australian holidaymakers have been fascinated with the Indonesian island of Bali. It started with follow-the-sun surfriders in the 1970s, but today, it’s a prime family holiday destination, the target market for Australia’s low-cost carrier Jetstar.
Since receiving its first Airbus A321LR in July last year, Qantas Group airline Jetstar has put the aircraft to good use on domestic and international routes. The airline now has four Airbus A321LRs, with a fifth due next month, and recently announced that two of these will be permanently based at Adelaide Airport (ADL) from the middle of the year.
More capacity on the A321LR
Jetstar currently uses an Airbus A320-200 on its daily service between Adelaide and Bali, but from July 21st, it will switch to the A321LR. Jetstar said the A321LR would add up to 46 more seats on each flight, boosting capacity by around 25% and adding 58,000 more seats on the popular route.
Today, Jetstar flight JQ125 departed Adelaide Airport at 06:53 and took 4:41 hours to traverse the 3,753 kilometers (2,330 miles) to Bali’s Denpasar Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), landing at 09:04. According to Flightradar24.com, the flight was operated by a nine-year-old Airbus A320-200, registration VH-YXW and MSN 05796, which will spend around 90 minutes on the ground before returning to Adelaide.
Jetstar Group CEO Stephanie Tully said that Bali has always been the airline’s most popular international destination, with more than 250,000 passengers traveling with Jetstar between Adelaide and Denpasar a year. She added:
“We’re proud to be flying the newest aircraft in our fleet – the A321neo LR – between Adelaide and Denpasar from mid-July, opening up more seats so that more customers can access our low fares each year. We appreciate the ongoing support of Adelaide Airport as we continue to grow our presence in the South Australian aviation market.”
Since Jetstar ordered the A321neos more than a decade ago, the airline has planned to operate them on a mix of domestic and international routes. The low-cost carrier (LCC) said the two Adelaide-based A321LRs would fly domestically and internationally. The inflight experience on the A321LR is a big step up from the A320-200s, and with wider seats, larger overhead bins, inflight USB charging and seat-back device holders, the aircraft works perfectly for medium-haul flights like the one to Bali.
The 321LRs are earning their keep
To illustrate how hard Jetstar works the A321LRs, here’s a look at a recent two days of flying for the first one to arrive, VH-OFE.
- On February 23rd, depart Melbourne at 06:22 to Cairns, arriving at 08:18, landing back in Melbourne at 13:36
- Depart Melbourne at 18:58 to Bali Denpasar, arriving at 21:24, landing back in Melbourne at 07:48 on February 24th
- Depart Melbourne at 09:56 to Hobart, arriving at 10:56, landing back in Melbourne at 12:51
- Depart Melbourne at 18:49 to Bali Denpasar, arriving at 22:05, landing back in Melbourne at 08:15 on February 25th
As an LCC, low fares are essential to Jetstars’ offering. Its one-way fares between Adelaide and Bali (for select travel dates from July 24th to September 14th) start at AU$280 ($190).
With the carrier due to receive a total of 18 new A321LRs by the middle of 2024 and with 20 A321XLRs on order, this mix of domestic and international flying will put all those longer-range aircraft to good use.