Malaysia’s Batik Air adds Melbourne route

Malaysian full-service airline Batik Air will introduce year-round flights between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur, adding extra capacity to one of Asia’s largest cities and increasing options for travellers heading to Southeast Asia and India. The service will operate four times a week using a 377 seat Airbus A330-300, featuring 12 seats in Business Class and 365 in Economy. Batik Air is part of the Lion Air Group and the extra Kuala Lumpur services will supplement the carrier’s daily flights between Melbourne Airport and Bali. As well as being a popular destination in its own right, Kuala Lumpur is an important transit hub for passengers heading to India or other destinations in Southeast Asia. Melbourne Airport Chief Executive Officer Lorie Argus said Batik Air’s year-round service would provide more choice for Victorians heading abroad, as well as international students and visitors looking to visit Melbourne. “Having three airline groups offering year-round service between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur makes this route more competitive than most Australian domestic routes,” she said. “Batik Air prides itself on being a premium carrier and serves more than 70 destinations across India and Southeast Asia, and we are confident both inbound and outbound travellers will welcome the extra choice.” Etihad Airways adds third daily flight to Moscow Etihad Airways is strengthening its presence in Russia with a significant capacity increase on its Abu Dhabi-Moscow route, providing enhanced travel options between the Middle East and Russia. From 1 October, Etihad is adding a third daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO), increasing the service to 21 flights per week. The expanded service operates on an Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring 8 Business and 150 Economy seats. In addition to the Moscow frequency increase, Etihad continues to expand its network with new routes planned for 2025, including a new service to Sochi, Russia’s premier resort destination on the Black Sea coast, starting from 29 May. The increased Moscow service creates better connections for travellers from Russia to Etihad’s expanding global network, particularly to popular destinations across the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The triple-daily flights are perfectly timed to facilitate both business travel and leisure trips, giving guests the option to choose departures throughout the day to suit their schedules. Ethiopian Airlines boosts service to Singapore Ethiopian Airlines, is launching its fifth weekly direct flight between Singapore and Addis Ababa from 4 July 2025. Ethiopia’s rare duality of being both the cradle of one of the world’s earliest civilisations and a rapidly growing economy with a promising future outlook, makes it a gateway to Africa for many Asian countries. The fifth weekly Boeing 787-800 flight is expected to meet the increasing demand for trade, tourism and investment between the two regions with Singapore as the connecting hub to Asia and Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa to the rest of Africa. It’s to become a part of the airlines’ push to expand its Asia-Pacific operations, building on an extensive network of 130 destinations. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]