New Direct Flight Links Bali and Phuket as TransNusa Launches Service

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A new direct flight now connects Phuket and Bali: Indonesian carrier TransNusa launched its inaugural Bali–Phuket service on September 9, 2026, giving travelers a second direct option between two of Southeast Asia’s biggest beach destinations.

The New Route

TransNusa flies an Airbus A320 (174 seats) between Denpasar (DPS) and Phuket (HKT), with the inaugural flight departing full. The schedule for now:

• Frequency: 4 times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday), starting September 9, 2026.
• Flight time: about 4 hours.
• Times: outbound flight 8B541 departs Bali 11:30am, arrives Phuket 2:35pm; return flight 8B542 departs Phuket 3:35pm, arrives Bali 8:35pm.
• Fares: starting from around Rp 2,399,000 one-way (roughly $145), with promotional introductory pricing currently available.
• Upgrade coming: TransNusa plans to move to daily service starting October 3, 2026.

TransNusa isn’t the first airline on this route — Indonesia AirAsia already operates it with two daily flights — but the new option adds capacity and a bit of schedule flexibility for anyone combining Bali and Phuket on one trip.

Why This Matters for Travelers

Direct island-to-island flights like this one cut out a connection through Bangkok or Jakarta, which is normally how travelers piece together a Bali-and-Thailand-beaches itinerary. A four-hour direct hop makes a two-country trip — say, a week in Phuket followed by a week in Bali, or the reverse — noticeably easier to plan.

• Comparing two beach destinations back to back: if you’re weighing Phuket against Bali, a direct flight makes it realistic to do both on one trip rather than choosing.
• More competition, watch for fares: with two airlines now flying the route, keep an eye on pricing over the next few months — new-route promotional fares tend to be their cheapest in the first weeks.
• Visa timing: remember Thailand’s visa-exemption rules changed as of September 15, 2026 — most nationalities now get 30 days instead of 60 — so factor that into how long you can actually stay if you’re entering visa-free.

Part of a Bigger Push

The Tourism Authority of Thailand welcomed the new service as part of its broader push to strengthen regional connectivity across Southeast Asia. Angkasa Pura Indonesia’s General Manager called the launch “good news for bolstering tourism connectivity within the Southeast Asian region.” It follows a string of other new route announcements this month, including a Riyadh–Bangkok service from Riyadh Air, as Thailand’s tourism sector aims to build on its momentum toward 21 million foreign visitors in 2026.

Bottom Line

A second direct airline now flies Bali to Phuket, four times a week for now and daily from October 3, with fares starting around $145 one-way. If a Bali-plus-Thailand-beaches trip is on your list, this is one more reason it just got easier to plan.

Sources

• TAT Newsroom – TAT welcomes TransNusa inaugural Bali–Phuket service
• Bali Discovery – TransNusa Now Flies Between Bali and Phuket, Fares Start From Rp 2.3 Million