Jakarta-based travelers bound for Western Australia or Cambodia will enjoy better air links this year.
Dawn breaks over the CBD of Perth, Western Australia. (Photo: Steve Doig/Unsplash)
AirAsia’s Indonesian subsidiary plans to expand its network out of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport with two new international routes, both operated using Airbus A320 aircraft. Four-times-weekly flights to Phnom Penh are set to debut on April 19, making it the first nonstop service linking Indonesia with Cambodia. This comes just in time for the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, which are due to be held in Phnom Penh from May 5–17.
Each Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, flight QZ 474 will depart Jakarta at 8:50 p.m. and arrive in Phnom Penh International Airport at 11:45 p.m. after two hours and 55 minutes in the air. QZ 475 will then take off from Phnom Penh at 12:45 a.m. every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to touch down in Jakarta at 3:45 a.m., taking three hours and 10 minutes for the southbound journey.
Indonesia AirAsia has also announced plans to fly from Jakarta to Perth for the first time, with four-times-weekly services commencing on June 2, 2023, delivering over 1,400 seats per week on the route. Fares start from just AUD 179 or IDR 1,299,000, and the estimated flight time is around four and a half hours each way. On Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, QZ 532 will leave Jakarta at 6:05 p.m. and reach Perth at 11:20 p.m. local time. The return service, QZ 533, is set to depart the Western Australian capital at 12:15 a.m. each Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, arriving back at Soekarno-Hatta at 4 a.m. Western Indonesia Time.
Indonesia AirAsia currently operates three daily flights between Perth and Bali due to soaring demand, offering over 7,000 seats per week on the route. With the upcoming launch of the Jakarta–Perth service, it will become the only airline flying nonstop between the two cities after the pandemic. Acting CEO of Perth Airport, Kate Holsgrove, said in a statement, “We look forward to working with the airline to grow the market so that it can become a daily connection for Perth.”
