UAE carrier Emirates will deploy its signature A380 aircraft to Bali, Indonesia starting from 1 June 2023.
This will mark a milestone in Indonesia’s aviation history as it will become the first scheduled A380 service to the country.
Current Boeing 777 operations
The new 2-class Emirates A380 service will replace one of the two daily services to Bali which is currently operated by the carriers 2-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The debut A380 flight EK368, will depart from Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 03:25 hrs, arriving in Denpasar International Airport (DPS) at 16:35 hrs local time.
The returning flight, EK369, will depart Bali at 19:40 hrs, arriving in Dubai at 00:45 hrs local time. All times are local.
Highlighting the significance of deployment of the world’s largest passenger aircraft to Bali, Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, said:
“The Emirates A380 is synonymous with our fly better promise and world-class products and services, and we’re excited to offer our travellers the opportunity to experience its uniqueness and unmatched beauty on flights to and from Bali.”
“Needless to say that we’ve been working closely with our partners at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport to ensure our A380 operations will be seamless and smooth. We’d like to thank the authorities and our partners for all their support.
The Bali tourism market
The Indonesian island of Bali continues to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the UAE airlines network and strategic markets in Southeast Asia.
Faik Fahmi, President Director of PT. Angkasa Pura I, said, “The scheduled operations of the Airbus A380 in Indonesia will be a historic moment for Indonesian aviation and Angkasa Pura I.”
“We welcome the Emirates A380 service, which will operate in early June, and are honored to be the first airport operator to receive regular commercial flights of the aircraft in the country.”
“This is the result of well-established coordination, synergy, and cooperation between Angkasa Pura I as the airport operator, Emirates, and the Ministry of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia as the regulator.”
Bali’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism, and naturally the years of the Covid19 pandemic took a severe toll on the island. Faik Fahmi noted the benefit of the new A380 service, saying:
“We hope the A380 operations in Indonesia, especially Bali, will have an increasingly positive impact on the tourism and economy sectors, and will further allow more opportunities for cooperation and investment in other sectors of the industry in Indonesia.”
Dubai to Bali service history
Emirates launched a non-stop daily service from Dubai to Bali in 2015, adding to its scheduled flights to Jakarta which began in 1992.
The airline has so far operated more than 49,000 flights and carried over 9 million passengers between Indonesia and Dubai.
Emirates currently serves Indonesia with 28 weekly flights to both Bali and Jakarta, and offers increased connectivity to 29 more domestic cities via the two gateways through its partnership agreements with both Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air.
Emirates continues to expand its A380 network to meet increasing travel demand globally. The airline’s flagship aircraft is currently deployed to 41 destinations, including Dubai and is likely to expand to nearly 50 destinations by the end of the summer.
