A NEW daily flights between Darwin and Bali was announced yesterday

Budget airline AirAsia said introductory fares would be $99 each way - and then about $350 return, including tax.The early morning service will be in direct competition with Jetstar. It will connect with flights to Bangkok, Jakarta, Surabaya, Kuala Lumpur and Phuket. AirAsia X operates a dirt-cheap service to Europe from KL.

Airport boss Ian Kew said he was particularly excited about the connections the Darwin-Bali service offered.Darwin has been somewhat cut off in the past,he said. Mr Kew said AirAsia would give Territorians more travel options and be a great opportunity to get people from Europe and Asia to come to Darwin.The service will start on December 23. Flights will leave Darwin at 4.45am and Denpasar at 11.30pm.Most Jetstar Darwin Denpasar flights over Christmas have already sold out, with all Darwin-Singapore JetSaver flights gone from December 10 to January 10.Tickets on AirAsia flights can be bought for travel until November next year.The airline will review the service in six month's time.But marketing director Widijastoro Nugroho said customers could rest assured flights wouldn't be cancelled if the review showed the service was not doing well.The Darwin-Bali flights follows Jetstar announcing that a Darwin-Manila service will start in February.