New Zealand is ready to temporarily resume direct flights to the island of Gods.
The service will be initially restored on March 29, 2023, and will run until October 27, 2023. Tickets went on sale early on Monday, October 31st, with the airline anticipating strong demand.
Leanne Geraghty, chief customer and sales officer, said to reporters, ‘Our last flight was in 2019 when we flew around 17,000 customers’.
Geraghty continued, “Bali regularly features as one of our top-searched destinations – currently in the top five – and we’re expecting interest to be hotter than the Balinese sunshine as Kiwis flock to book a winter getaway.”
Air New Zealand’s flight from Auckland to Denpasar, Bali, will operate three times a week. The service will be operated with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Flight times will change slightly due to daylight saving time, but flights will depart Auckland around noon and arrive in Denpasar around 4:20 p.m. local time. The route will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
The return flight leaves I Gusti Ngurah Rai International at 5:50 p.m. local time and arrives in Auckland at 5:30 a.m. the next day. Return flights are also available on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Tickets are selling quickly due to the great demand, and travelers from New Zealand are advised to buy them as soon as possible. Because this is such a popular long-haul flight, economy class travelers will also receive full onboard services. This includes a complimentary dinner, in-flight entertainment and, most importantly, checked baggage.
Air New Zealand is the first airline to offer direct flights from the Wiggle Islands to Bali. Previously, Emirates offered this service, but there is no indication that it will resume anytime soon.
For its part, according to the Virgin Australia website, ‘Surfboards enclosed in a protective hard case bag, with fins removed, that weigh less than 23kg and are shorter than 3m incur no excess baggage fees and are considered part of your checked baggage allowance when you book a Choice or Flex fare with Virgin Australia’. Tickets are already on sale, and the service will begin in March, alongside the new Air New Zealand Auckland-Bali route.