Batik Air Malaysia and AirAsia are increasing connectivity between Malaysia and Australia with the launch of new services to Melbourne and Perth, respectively.

Lion Air Group subsidiary Batik plans to commence nonstop Airbus A330 widebody flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) to Melbourne Airport (MEL) from Dec. 20. Frequencies will be four times per week through Feb. 6, 2024, to cater to peak holiday season demand.

The airline already serves Adelaide and Perth nonstop from Malaysia’s capital city, as well as flying one-stop to Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney via Denpasar (DPS), the main airport of Bali, Indonesia.

Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows the addition of nonstop KUL-MEL service, coupled with the addition of more flights to Perth Airport (PER) and Sydney, will increase Batik’s capacity to and from Australia to about 32,000 two-way weekly seats by early 2024, up from 19,500 at the present time.

“Melbourne stands as a top-tier vacation destination and we have recognised the increasing demand for direct connectivity to Australia especially during the peak holidays and travel season,” Batik Group Strategic Director Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy says.

Two carriers currently operate nonstop service between KUL and MEL, with Malaysia Airlines providing up to 16 weekly flights using A330-200s, and AirAsia X offering daily flights aboard A330-300s that will grow to 12X-weekly from December.

Elsewhere, AirAsia intends to introduce its first Australian route during the first quarter of 2024. The LCC will connect KUL and PER daily from March 11 using A321neos, complementing the existing daily service between the cities flown by its affiliate airline AirAsia X.

“Perth has consistently been one of AirAsia’s most popular destinations, attracting travelers for leisure, tourism, education, as well as for visiting family and friends due to its close proximity to Southeast Asia,” AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat says. “From Jan. 1-Oct. 30, 2023, approximately 30,000 guests flew from Malaysia to Perth, with the top five nationalities being Australians, Malaysians, Indians, Chinese and New Zealanders.”

The KUL-PER market is served by three operators at present. Malaysia Airlines offers 12 roundtrips per week, while AirAsia X and Batik each provide daily nonstop flights. Batik also flies to PER via DPS.

Perth Airport acting CEO Kate Holsgrove says that Malaysia is Western Australia’s fifth biggest international visitor market, injecting A$88 million ($57.5 million) into the region’s economy in visitor expenditure for the year ending in June.

“Malaysia is also a popular holiday destination and, combined with a large number of passengers also visiting friends and relatives, will continue to be an important market for outbound visitation,” she adds. “We’ve got strong business, education, trade and tourism links with Malaysia and this new nonstop service provides further opportunities.”

Details of AirAsia’s new route come after Jetstar Airways announced plans to make PER its latest base and launch international flights to Singapore, and Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand. Jetstar says the Perth expansion has been enabled “by a pipeline of new [A320]neo aircraft joining the airline’s fleet, freeing up existing aircraft and creating new flying opportunities.”