Following the launch of AirAsia X Indonesia’s Mumbai-Bali daily flight, Indonesia is expecting a boost in leisure tourist inflow from the India market. This launch will leverage upon the increasing demand of tourists from India going to Bali. “We were looking at this operation for a long time and now has been launched. We received a lot of support from the Indonesian Consulate and Indonesian government,” said Sulistyo Nugroho Hanung, CEO and director of flight operation, AirAsia X Indonesia.
The inaugural flight XT853, from Mumbai to Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, witnessed a passenger load factor of 90 per cent. However, Nugroho Hanung emphasised that the airline is not stressing on load factor because the passenger traffic on this route is high and a lot of Indians travel to Bali.
“Indian arrivals to Indonesia has been strong, even prior to this development. This flight launch will further give boost to tourist arrivals from India. This is also a good way to increase B2B contact between India and Indonesia,” commented Saut Siringoringo, Consul General of Indonesia in Mumbai. When asked about MICE tourism, Siringoringo said that the recently launched Garuda Indonesia flight on Mumbai-Jakarta route is more MICE-centric. Bali being a leisure destination, AirAsia X Indonesia flight is focused more on the leisure segment.
AirAsia X Indonesia is looking to garner business and create a bigger market for itself through dynamic fares on this route. With its low-cost long-haul service that connects the two destinations coupled with short-haul connectivity of AirAsia Indonesia, the airline also aims to support Indonesian government to bring in 20 million tourists by 2019.
The flight is operated on Airbus A330-300, offering a configuration of 377 seats – 12 Flatbed and 365 Economy seats.
