AirAsia suspends Bali flights from Sydney, Melbourne; Tigerair offers discount to affected passengers

Indonesia AirAsia X has cancelled its flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Bali, Indonesia. From Sep. 1, the low-cost airline will cease the flights on both Australian cities as part of “network restructuring.”

The announcement was sent via email to passengers booked with the airline this year.

“The route suspension is part of a network restructuring aimed at improving operational efficiencies,” the email read, as obtained by news.com.au.

According to the news site, the passengers may opt to move their flight to an earlier date, reroute on AirAsia flights via Kuala Lumpur, or accept credit shell for use on other AirAsia products.

The passengers can also ask for a full refund, but some travellers apparently have had difficult time getting through the number provided in the email. One passenger complained on the airline’s Facebook page that a customer representative hung up on her on the phone when she asked for a faster payment refund to her flight.

“I would have accepted a reasonable resolution but 15-30 business days for my money back is an absolute joke” Michelle Edwards wrote on the social media site.

Tigerair to the rescue

AirAsia’s loss is Tigerair’s gain. The budget carrier has offered special recovery fares to passengers whose flights have been booked on AirAsia from Sep. 1. Tigerair is giving those who could provide proof of their AirAsia booking 20 percent discount on the same route with Tigerair.

“Tigerair Australia is proud to provide Australians with consistently great value fares both domestically and now also to one of the most popular international leisure destinations,” Commercial Director Adam Rowe said in a statement.

“Out new international services to Bali feature in-flight entertainment and our extra legroom seats are among the most generous of any economy seat in the sky. As always the best way to secure a great value fare is to plan ahead and book early.”

Tigerair Australia commenced its daily flights to Bali from Melbourne and Perth, as well as its five weekly services from Adelaide to Bali, on March 23.