An Indonesian carrier is being launched on 28 October to fill the void in the market for services between Australia and Denpasar (Bali), after last year's collapse of Ansett International.
The carrier, Air Paradise International, was recently awarded an operating licence, and will be acquiring two ex-Singapore Airlines Airbus A310-300s.
It will operate four weekly flights from its Bali base to Perth; three to Melbourne; and also fly domestic services between Bali and Indonesia's capital Jakarta.
Air Paradise says it will launch services with its first A310, and the second will follow before year-end. The airline will then add services to Taipei in Taiwan and Seoul in South Korea.
The airline is being launched by Kadek Wiranatha, the head of Bali-based company Bounty Group, which also owns hotels, nightclubs and taxi services.
Its backers say they saw a market gap after the September 2001 collapse of Australia's Ansett, which served Bali.
The new airline will compete with Garuda and Qantas.
Source: Flight International
