Jakarta based Citilink has announced it is commencing flights between Denpasar and Perth. CH-Aviation, drawing on a Routes Online report, is saying that the flights are set to begin at the end of October 2019. Simple Flying has confirmed with Citilink that the start date for flights is October 28th, 2019.

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Citilink is starting Perth flights from November 28, 2019. Photo: PK-REN via Flickr.

Citilink is a low-cost carrier established by Indonesian flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, in 2001. Citilink primarily flies around Indonesia but also offers limited international flights to destinations such as Malaysia, China, West Timor, Cambodia, and now Australia.

The airline will send its A320s down to Perth on its new daily flights. Citilink primarily flies A320s and they seat 180 passengers in an all-economy 3-3 cabin configuration.

Perth-Denpasar is a popular route with several carriers already offering multiple flights. Existing carriers include Jetstar. AirAsia, Batik Air, and Garuda. Notably, neither Qantas nor Virgin Australia offers Perth-Denpasar services.

Bali is a popular holiday spot for Perth residents with many owning weekenders on the Indonesian island. The proliferation of low-cost carriers on the route and rock bottom fares stimulates a lot of passenger movements. If for no other reason, another competitor flying the route will be welcomed as it will place further downward pressure on fares.

The flights between Perth and Denpasar operate leave Perth mid-morning to arrive in Denpasar at lunchtime. The return flight operates at decidedly unfriendly hours. A post-midnight departure from Denpasar lands in Perth at dawn.

Like most low-cost carriers, Citilink offers some in-cabin product differentiation. The entry-level rock bottom fares offer prospective passengers not much more than a seat and a small cabin bag allowance. However, Citilink is rolling out free WiFi for all passengers on its planes this year.

Citilink’s best seats - its first five rows and exit rows - it calls its “green seats.” These cost more. Aside from picking up some extra legroom in some of these rows and the speedier exit from the plane after landing, additional benefits include snacks, drinks, and insurance

A little known airline - except for one incident

Outside its home market, Citilink isn’t well known. If anything, it is best known for an ‘incident’ in 2016 when a pilot, allegedly made a drunken pre-departure pep talk to passengers prior to pushing back on a flight from Surabaya to Jakarta. Passengers allegedly pulled out their phones and began calling the airline’s office. The pilot was removed from the flight.

Footage is also available of the pilot adroitly dealing with the security check at Surabaya.

This incident caused Citilink to sack the pilot. The airline’s CEO, Albert Burhan, also resigned. Since then, the airline has managed to avoid the headlines.

Plans for the future

In addition to Perth, Citilink has announced plans to fly to Jeddah and Frankfurt. These long haul flights are tentatively set to start later this year. However, the A330neo aircraft set to operate the routes are yet to be delivered to the airline. Aerotime News Hub also notes that the airline would like to expand its Australian presence beyond its first planned foray in Perth.

With its ambitions to expand internationally, we might be hearing and seeing more of Citilink yet.