AirAsia Indonesia commenced a daily service in December 2010 and then reduced the service to 4 times per week in October.
The departure of AIrAsia will again leave Jetstar as the monopoly service provider with their 11 services per week.
Garuda had served the route for many years, while Merpati offered a service via Kupang in the 1990s. Other Indonesia airlines have indicated an interest in flying to Darwin including Sriwijaya and possibly Mandala, who are due to recommence services in April in partnership with Tiger Airlines.
The Northern Territory News report follows.
AirAsia cans Darwin to Bali route
CONOR BYRNE | March 3rd, 2012
HUNDREDS of Top End air passengers are in the lurch after AirAsia suddenly pulled its Darwin to Bali route.
The low-fare carrier has been on the route for 14 months.
AirAsia flies to Bali four times per week, and reduced its service from daily flights last October.
Darwin Airport management was only told of the decision hours before AirAsia sent text messages and emails to affected customers.
Passengers are offered a refund or an opportunity to re-book their flight to a date before April 29 - when the last Darwin to Bali service operates.
Darwin airport services director Jim Parashos said the suspension was because of other destinations such as Thailand and the Philippines eroded the Bali market share.
Mr Parashos said the cut was part of the airline's review, and services to Paris, London, India and Indonesia were also cancelled.
He was not hopeful that AirAsia would return, but said Darwin Airport would "absolutely' take them back.
"We'd never close the door on any airline," he said.
"I think airlines will continue to put competitive fares out there I think people's expectations that they will travel at the cheapest possible fare is a bit unreasonable but certainly if people travel outside the peaks they will continue to see $129 fares to Bali."
The NT Government invested $56,000 worth of "cooperative advertising" in AirAsia when it came to Darwin at Christmas 2010. It covered a 10-week tourism digital and print campaign to promote the Top End in Asia.
Chief Minister Paul Henderson said the NT Government does not just write airlines a cheque.
"For every airline we have cooperative advertising...we work with airlines in terms of marketing their particular routes".
"There's no subsidies to any airline."
International tourist numbers dropped 6 per cent in 2011 compared to 2010, according to a Tourism Research Australia snapshot in September. The national decline was 0.2 per cent.
Opposition tourism spokesman Willem Westra van Holthe said "proper" marketing is needed to get people on airlines.
Mr Henderson said budget airlines come and go like "buses" and that a pull-out wasn't unusual.
But he said the amount of airline seats serving Darwin was increasing every year.
"I'm sure someone is going to step in and take their place," he said.
Byrnec@ ntnews.com.au