Which is the best airline to fly from Australia to Bali?

[Daver6]

I messaged Virgin thru their Facebook..told them it’s open slather PER DPS route at the moment…they replied not interested…amazing they can do flights to places that aren’t so frequented (political) yet here ex PER we only have Jetstar and Batik Air.Jetstar airfares are sky high

must add, I booked SQ VIA Singapore…much cheaper than Jetstar, mid Aug.

Sigh. I'm tempted to take up the Accor 30% off Indo sale to go to Bali. However, flight options for getting there are really putting me off. Having to waste time going via SIN doesn't appeal to me.

 

[Forg]

must add, I booked SQ VIA Singapore…much cheaper than Jetstar, mid Aug.

But will SQ provide you with the drunken mullet-wearer, for the full Bali experience?
Sometimes you need to pay a bit more to be properly immersed.

 

[Scarlett]

But will SQ provide you with the drunken mullet-wearer, for the full Bali experience?
Sometimes you need to pay a bit more to be properly immersed.

I would hope that most people here aren’t going to Bali to see bogan Australians, but rather to experience Balinese and Indonesian culture in an inexpensive and tropical location.

Perhaps the SQ experience better mirrors that goal!

 

[docjames]

Pre-COVID the PER-DPS route had a lot of competition, Suspec VA are wary of wading in and then ending up in a LCC battle with the Indonesian carriers.

 

[ANstar]

We have taken the VA J option ADL-DPS. It wasn’t our preferred option but lounge access in ADL and being a day flight we can bear it. On the way back though we have a few options to consider. I’m leaning slightly towards MH but VN are offering not bad prices ex CGK and there is always an option to take up the PR bargains ex KUL where we can get a return ticket cheaper than most one way fares

Given Jetstar have a daytime DPS-ADL flight I would take that (4 hours) over going via somewhere else in Asia and pushing it out to a 12-14hour overnight trip.

 

[jase05]

Given Jetstar have a daytime DPS-ADL flight I would take that (4 hours) over going via somewhere else in Asia and pushing it out to a 12-14hour overnight trip.

Jetstar are on our banned list to the point that even in NZ last week ZQN-WLG on Air NZ was $425 in Y and Jetstar was $220 and we still flew with NZ.
I would rather walk than ever fly Junkstar again

 

[bPeteb]

No idea what's best but we're flying J* in July from BNE. It's a few hours in a cylindrical bus. Sure there might be some bogans on there with us but we've seen bogans traveling on the upper deck of a QF 747.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just flew Qantas to bali yesterday, economic cabin. I wrote in the ‘meals’ thread that aside from the speed of service due to the large cabin, every other aspect was ‘business class’… food, drinks, staff attentiveness. Top notch flight! Having flown Garuda, and knowing what VA and JQ Y would be like, QF has got to win by a mile.

 

[dajop]

Well I flew QF back from DPS to SYD, and whilst I didn't have a choice in this instance, I would not pay the extra 4000 pts to fly them over JQ on the route.

The food was just fairly basic. No dessert or ice cream which I sort of expected QF might have in their catering. Crew didn't seem that happy to be there (understandable on short overnight flight). IFE was good though.

And then there's the horrible seat. I really don't know how you all cope flying the 738 all the time. The leg room was less than the JQ 787 flight I had yesterday from MEL to SIN and the 3K A320 from SIN to DPS (I measured it), but more importantly I I think I am the wrong body shape for the seat, the top of the cushion (circled below) seems to push into my shoulder blade making it extremely uncomfortable (I noticed this on my last 738 flight from BNE to MEL a few years ago too). I suspect it is probably just my specific shape/bone structure (given how much people fawn over the airline), but by far the most uncomfortable seat I've flown in any narrowbody in the last couple of years - and that includes JQ, Scoot, Vietjet, Easyjet plus several legacy carriers. The saving grace was the empty seats beside me! Lucky on that one.

Seat:


Food:

 

[Forg]

@dajop … I hope you didn’t let whatever that thing is on the right hatch, what if the probably-xenomorph inside got the flight crew?!

 

[Gold Member]

I would rather walk than ever fly Junkstar again

“Junkstar”, love it. I normally refer to them as Halfstar for obvious reasons, but I think I’m gonna take on your new official logo Jase. Or maybe I’ll modulate… decisions… OCD… anhhhhh… either way, at least 2 of my 4 Shrinks are gonna here about this.

 

[seafarer]

Flew SYD-DPS-SYD last week once again in Garuda Business Class. Fantastic crew both ways , friendly, warm, engaging. Pro active refills of champas, beer, even coughtails. Basic wine offerings. Plenty of tucker, full meal plus a snack served on the 5-6 hour flight. Food was decent, an Indonesian chicken dish being the standout. Punctual departures. 2 enjoyable flights. Older style 2-2-2 config perfectly acceptable when travelling as a couple on a mid range flight. Enough spare seats on both flights for solo travellers to find an empty seat beside them. Overall fantastic experience.

 

[bam71]

I LOVE Garuda J. Haven’t done them post Covid though …..

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Well I flew QF back from DPS to SYD, and whilst I didn't have a choice in this instance, I would not pay the extra 4000 pts to fly them over JQ on the route.

The food was just fairly basic. No dessert or ice cream which I sort of expected QF might have in their catering. Crew didn't seem that happy to be there (understandable on short overnight flight). IFE was good though.

And then there's the horrible seat. I really don't know how you all cope flying the 738 all the time. The leg room was less than the JQ 787 flight I had yesterday from MEL to SIN and the 3K A320 from SIN to DPS (I measured it), but more importantly I I think I am the wrong body shape for the seat, the top of the cushion (circled below) seems to push into my shoulder blade making it extremely uncomfortable (I noticed this on my last 738 flight from BNE to MEL a few years ago too). I suspect it is probably just my specific shape/bone structure (given how much people fawn over the airline), but by far the most uncomfortable seat I've flown in any narrowbody in the last couple of years - and that includes JQ, Scoot, Vietjet, Easyjet plus several legacy carriers. The saving grace was the empty seats beside me! Lucky on that one.

Seat:
View attachment 318662

Food:
View attachment 318663

Flew this yesterday. The mains were a choice of the roast chicken salad (pictured above), beef goulash, or plant-based fried tofu, vegetables and steamed rice. The mains were not the highlight

We got sweets thought! Banana bread which wasn’t packaged very nice but was moist and delicious.

The bread ‘potato’ thing was actually delicious! A hot pana de casa sort of brioche-y consistency, injected with a generous portion of garlic butter. It was yummy!

Service was again business class in coach… regular water runs, apple baskets making a regular appearance and being offered to those awake, fully stocked snack pantry with muffins and packaged goodies. Great crew!

 

[dajop]

Service was again business class in coach… regular water runs, apple baskets making a regular appearance and being offered to those awake, fully stocked snack pantry with muffins and packaged goodies. Great crew!

Wow. Qantas inconsistency at work again. No banana bread on my flight and crew were invisible between the meal service and landing - certainly no water runs or apple baskets. Didn’t see a snack pantry either (and I did go up the back to use the toilets mid flight). Full confession: I did have an apple and a delicious piece of slice - that I’d taken from the QF lounge in SIN in the 3 mins I had there before my 3K flight down to DPS.

With my flight I saw almost no value on QF compared to my Jetstar flight returning to SiN, such a contrast.

 

[cambriamarsh]

Jetstar are on our banned list to the point that even in NZ last week ZQN-WLG on Air NZ was $425 in Y and Jetstar was $220 and we still flew with NZ.
I would rather walk than ever fly Junkstar again

JQ in NZ aren't too bad. I've flown them plenty of times with no issues. Sounds like they're quite different to their big brother.

 

[Forg]

JQ in NZ aren't too bad. I've flown them plenty of times with no issues. Sounds like they're quite different to their big brother.

I think that From Up On High the corporate mandate says they’re trying to appear less formal & more fun, onboard; like Virgin are/were.

The “service” differences I’ve never looked for so not noticed, domestic flights you generally don’t notice or care. Never tried Jetstar internationally. The fact they’ve been late most times I’ve flown Jetstar is the biggie for me.

 

[RooFlyer]

Found this thread after asking/thinking about it for a day.

The fact that I'm contemplating using JQ for the return DPS-MEL (or SYD) shows what utter cough the direct options are - mainly because all other options bar one are overnight on a B737. JQ Biz Max or whatever its called, day flight will have to do.

 

[AFF Editor]

We've updated this guide for 2024:

Overview of Airlines Flying from Australia to Bali in 2023

Bali is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Australians, with well over a million Aussies flying there every year.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It’s important to note that inflight entertainment *may* be available on flights to Bali on Virgin. It’s supposed to be, but quite often doesn’t work or is broken. If IFE is important, either download before the airport, or choose a carrier where it is more reliable.