• Digital Nomad Resources
  • Train Travel
  • Urban Rail Transit
  • Where To Stay

Nomadic Notes

Travel blog and weekly travel newsletter

  • Blog
  • Travel Newsletter

Flight Review: Malindo Air – Melbourne to Denpasar (Bali)

October 31, 2019 By James Clark

Flight Review: Malindo Air - Melbourne to Denpasar (Bali)

Flight: Malindo Air OD 178
From: Melbourne (MEL) To: Denpasar (DPS)

I flew with Malindo Air from Melbourne to Bali. I compared flights online with Skyscanner as there are a number of options to choose from. Malindo was the clear winner for both price and time of day.

MEL-DPS options on Skyscanner

My ticket was $329 AUD ($223 USD) so it was a good deal for such a long flight.

Malindo Air MEL-DPS flights

I checked in online so I could pick a seat, but the system was having trouble checking me in.

Seat selection MEL-DPS

When I checked in the system had at least remembered my seat selection.

Malindo check-in

Malindo Air is a Malaysian airline, so this flight is operated as a fifth-freedom flight. The flight originates in Kuala Lumpur and makes a stopover in Bali. Airlines can pick up new passengers under this agreement for international flights, but not domestic. For example if Malindo flew from Kuala Lumpur to Perth then Melbourne, it wouldn’t be able to pick up new passengers from Perth to Melbourne as that is a domestic leg.

As a frequent flyer I’m familiar with this, but at the airport I noticed some confused passengers as the flight was showing Kuala Lumpur on the departure board with no mention of Denpasar. I recall Qantas would at least show Singapore on their Singapore/London flights.

International departures

My boarding pass had the right destination.

MEL-DPS boarding pass

In the international departures I was happy to see that St Ali has a branch. St Ali is a well-known local cafe, and it was fitting that a hipster cafe should be at the airport and no sign of a Starbucks.

St Ali coffee

Malindo Air flight OD 178 departs Melbourne at 7:45 and arrives in Bali at 11:25 (3 hours behind) for a total flight time of 6 hours and 40 minutes.

Malindo Air at MEL

The flight is on a 737-800 ER.

737

For longer flights I like to sit in the aisle so I can move about. I was in 8C. I would have been annoyed if I picked the window on 8A because there was no window.

Seat 8A - no window

Malindo Air is a hybrid airline, combining features of a low cost airline and full-service airline. The most important feature for this flight was the leg room of a full service airline.

Leg room

The flight was practically full, which makes sense given the popularity of the route. I have no way of knowing how many of the passengers are flying through to Kuala Lumpur. I’ve flown the other leg from Kuala Lumpur to Bali as well.

MEL-DPS cabin

Malindomag, in inflight magazine of Malindo Air.

Malindo magazine

I’ve drawn the route of this flight: MEL-DPS-KUL. As you can see, Bali makes for a useful stop on this route.

Route map

Malindobites – the menu in addition to the main meals.

Malindobites

This menu is mainly for snacks.

Snacks

You can order coffee and alcohol here as well.

Drinks

I mentioned that Malindo is a hybrid airline, so they have features of a full service airline while being low cost. One such feature is a free meal. When I checked in though I got this pop-up saying that the free meal service would end from 15 October. This was after my flight, so I ended up booking a meal at the check-in process.

No more free meals

When the meal service began I noticed that everyone was getting a meal, and when they arrived at my seat I got two meals. Apparently free meals are still available, so I got that in addition to the meal I paid for.

2 meals

Another “full service” feature is inflight entertainment, where you can watch a selection of movies and TV shows. It turned out that I was sitting in one of the few seats where the screen wasn’t working. Luckily for me I prefer to work on day time flights.

Inflight entertainment

The flight arrived on time at Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Malindo at Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport

To my shocked surprise the immigration hall was empty. I have arrived here before to a sea of people, so this was a pleasant way to arrive. Sometimes you just get lucky with the timing of the flight.

Empty immigration hall

I picked up my bag and after getting a sim card I ordered a Grab for my trip to Ubud.

Baggage claim

Overall this was a good flight option to get from Melbourne to Bali. The time of day was ideal, and I enjoyed the flight and service.

Filed Under: Flight Review Tagged With: dps airport, malindo air, mel airport

Weekly Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts, and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.
Subscribe For Free Here [No spam, unsubscribe anytime.]

About Nomadic Notes

James Clark from Nomadic Notes

Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

More about me and Nomadic Notes.

Follow Nomadic Notes

Recent Posts

  • Bangkok to Pattaya by train
  • Notes on Udon Thani
  • Where to stay in Singapore: The best areas and notable hotels (2023)
  • Ornamental street signs of Thailand
  • Where to stay in Georgetown, Penang – The best area to stay and the pick of the hotels (2023)
  • Notes on Nakhon Phanom: Down by the river, and hanging out at Uncle Ho’s House
  • Where to stay in Da Nang – the best areas and most notable hotels (2023)
  • Where to stay in Hanoi: The best areas for first-time visitors
  • Where to stay in Dubai: The best areas and most iconic hotels
  • Cambodia Railways: A guide to train travel in Cambodia

European Rail Travel

Eurail Pass Travel Guide

Europe Rail News – The new newsletter for train travel in Europe

Southeast Asia Rail Travel

Southeast Asia current and proposed railways

A complete guide to train travel in Southeast Asia

Featured Posts

Top 200 Travel Books
How to find cheap flights
Best new banks for travellers, expats, and nomads

About Nomadic Notes

About
Advertise
Contact
Contribute
Press/Media Mentions
Where I've Been

Search Nomadic Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Notes

Travel Resources

Long-term Travel
Travel Blog Directory
Travel Gear
Travel Insurance
Travel Sites

Where To Stay In…

Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Da Nang
Ho Chi Minh City
Hong Kong
Jakarta
Kuala Lumpur
Macau
Penang
Singapore

Travel Newsletter

Sign up for the weekly travel newsletter for the latest posts and a roundup of best travel reads from around the web.

Copyright © 2023 Nomadic Notes · Site Map | Privacy · Log in