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While Melbourne and Sydney Airports get most of the media’s attention, the other Australian capital city airports are vital cogs in keeping the nation connected, both domestically and internationally. For that reason, it is always great news when airports like Adelaide announce new services, which happened on the weekend.
On Saturday, Adelaide Airport (ADL) announced that Batik Air Malaysia will commence nonstop services between Adelaide and Malaysia in July. Batik Air Malaysia will operate three services a week from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) to Adelaide Airport on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, with the return flight to Kuala Lumpur departing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Malindo Air rebranded
The keen aviation followers will know that Batik Air Malaysia is the new name for Malindo Air, with the rebranding happening in April last year. There is a Batik Air based at Jakarta Soekarno Hatta Airport in the Philippines, which also sits under the Lion Air umbrella, as did Malindo Air. As Malindo Air operated in a similar style to Batik Air the owners wanted to consolidate under one brand for its full-service carriers, hence the rebranding of Malindo Air to Batik Air Malaysia.
Photo: Wikimedia
Malaysia is a solid market from Adelaide with plenty of tourism, visiting family and relatives, business and educational opportunities for two-way traffic. Adelaide Airport Managing Director Brenton Cox said it was fantastic to welcome another airline flying between Adelaide and Kuala Lumpur and to “link Adelaide into Asia through Batik’s considerable network.”
“Batik Air Malaysia offers connections through Kuala Lumpur across its network for travelers wanting to continue to other destinations throughout South East Asia, China, Japan and India. The airline previously operated a one-stop service via Bali under its previous Malindo Air banner, but this is the first time it has offered a nonstop service to and from Adelaide.”
According to fleet data from Planespotters.net, Batik Air Malaysia has a fleet of 33 aircraft, which includes nine ATR72s, one Airbus A330-300, seven Boeing 737-800s and 16 737 MAX 8s. Three ATR turboprops are listed as parked, as are the A330 and one of the 737-800s. The fleet’s average age is close to seven years, helped by the younger MAXs compared to the older ATR72s.
Photo: Boeing
No stranger to Australia
Batik Air Malaysia already operates flights from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth to Bali Denpasar Airport (DPS), as well as a nonstop flight from Perth Airport (PER) to Kuala Lumpur. Lion Air Group Strategy Director Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy said:
“Looking ahead to the rest of 2023, we see stronger demand for flights to destinations across Australia, and therefore we expanded our wings to Adelaide. With the launch of our flight to Adelaide, we are not only linking the city to Kuala Lumpur but also providing network connectivity to over 45 Batik Air destinations via Kuala Lumpur International Airport.”
By the end of 2022, Adelaide Airport had recovered to 89% of pre-COVID levels, with international traffic benefitting from the more relaxed travel restrictions in Asia. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, international traffic grew to 61% and domestic to 93% in the October to December quarter.
Have you flown with Batik Air Malaysia? Let us know in the comments.
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