Indonesia gets a bullet train

In Australia it takes an age to travel between Sydney and Newcastle on a rattling old train.

In Indonesia, they are this week celebrating the launch of south-east Asia’s first high-speed bullet train.

The Waktu Hemat, Operasi Optimal, Sistem Hebat (WHOOSH) train was inaugurated by President Joko Widodo and runs from the capital Jakarta to Bandung in West Java.

The China-backed project has cost around $10 billion.

It is mostly funded by China under a deal with Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, a consortium of Indonesia and China companies.

The new train cuts a journey time of three hours to under an hour on the 142km route and trains are capable of reaching speeds of 350kmh, Travel Mole reports.

“The Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train marks the modernisation of our mass transportation, which is efficient and environmentally friendly,” Widodo said.

The project construction began in 2016 but experienced multiple delays including due to the pandemic

The trains have seating capacity for over 600 passengers.

Image: Xinhua  

New direct air link between Perth and Jakarta

There is now a way to travel directly between Perth and the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

Indonesia AirAsia earlier this week celebrated its maiden flights on the Jakarta-Perth route with AirAsia the only airline flying direct between the two cities post pandemic.

The direct service will run four times a week initially, delivering over 1,400 visitor seats weekly through Perth and Jakarta Airports, with plans to grow in line with demand.

Fares start from $179 one way.

“This is the first time Indonesia AirAsia has ever flown on this route," said Eddy Krismeidi Sumawilaga, Head of Indonesia Affairs and Policy of Indonesia AirAsia. "Demand for our inaugural flights has been very encouraging.

"We foresee this new Jakarta-Perth route will also be very popular for leisure travellers wanting to see more of Indonesia and for Indonesians wanting to visit Perth for business, leisure, studying and visiting friends and family.

"This new route also enables Australians to fly from Jakarta to many incredibly popular tourist destinations, including Borobudur in Java, Danau Toba in Sumatera, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Likupang in Sulawesi and Mandalika in Lombok."

Roger Cook, Wester Australia's tourism minister, said: "The inaugural flights are an important step forward in strengthening our valued relationship between these two neighbouring tourism destinations.

"AirAsia is an important airline partner and Indonesia is a significant visitor market for Western Australia, representing our 10th-largest international market by number of visitors in 2022."

The flights between Jakarta and Perth will use A320 aircraft with 180 seats capacity. The flight duration is 4.5 hours.

New AirAsia flights open up Indonesia for Australians

There is a lot more to Indonesia than the popular holiday playground of Bali.

Indonesia AirAsia is hoping to open up different regions of the country to Australian tourists with the announcement it will be flying from Jakarta to Perth for the first time, starting from June 2.

Fares on the route went on sale this week, with flights starting from $179.

The direct service will run four times a week, delivering over 1,400 visitor seats weekly through Perth and Jakarta airports, with plans to grow in line with demand.

Indonesia AirAsia is the only airline flying between Jakarta and Perth post pandemic.

Travel between Indonesia and Australia has always been popular for a number of reasons, including the convenient flight time and appeal of both destinations for shopping, dining, adventure, beaches, as well as education.

The Embassy of the Republic Indonesia says the number of Indonesian students in Australia this year has already reached more than 20,000.

“This is the first time Indonesia AirAsia has flown on this route - thanks to our tourism and airport partners for helping to make these new services a reality," said the CEO of Indonesia AirAsia, Veranita Yosephine,

"We foresee this new Jakarta-Perth route will be very popular for leisure travellers wanting to see more of Indonesia and for the more than 270 million Indonesians [more than 10 million residents in Jakarta alone] wanting to visit Perth and West Australia for business, leisure, studying and visiting friends and family."

And there was also excitement in Perth.

“This new service to and from Jakarta will deliver a significant boost for the business and tourism sectors and the broader economy," said acting CEO of Perth Airport Kate Holsgrove.

"More than 60 percent of the world’s population lives on our doorstep in Asia. Perth is closer than Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to 17 of Asia’s top 20 most populated cities - including Jakarta."

Mixed news for flyers from Qantas

Qantas has good news for international flyers and bad news for domestic travellers. 

Post-Covid, the Australian national airline is resuming flights to Johannesburg and Jakarta from Perth, but is cutting back on some domestic routes as it struggles to cope with demand. 

"After a faster-than-expected Covid-19 recovery for the travel industry, we have had to adapt to meet increasing demand and rapidly changing circumstances," Qantas said in a statement. 

"We sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding while we work through what has been a challenging restart for our industry globally."

Qantas says it has deployed extra staff to assist at check-in and manage queues, and made operational changes to improve on time performance. 

All much needed as Qantas has not been delivering over recent months. 

"In the current environment, we know it will take some time for our operations to normalise, but we're working every day to ensure we deliver the level of service you have come to expect from Qantas." the airline said.

The had news is that "the Qantas Group is adjusting its domestic capacity levels to assist with the recovery of sustained high fuel prices". 

That means fewer flights on some routes due to rising fuel costs. 

"Capacity is being reduced from high frequency routes, so the impact to customers is expected to be minimal," Qantas says. 

The good news: Qantas will significantly boost its international network from Perth with flights to Johannesburg and Jakarta set to take off later this year. 

The routes are the latest of eight new international services the national carrier has announced since Australia's international borders re-opened in November 2021.

Qantas will operate the only direct service from Perth to South Africa - taking over from struggling South African Airways - operating three return flights per week on its Airbus A330 aircraft starting from November 1. 

Qantas flights will reconnect Perth with Jakarta for the first time since borders closed in March 2020, beginning with three flights per week on its Boeing 737 aircraft from November 30.