Indonesia

TransNusa Jakarta Penang flight route news: The inaugural scheduled flight on 1 December marks a significant milestone in its regional expansion strategy, further strengthening the airline‘s growing presence across Southeast Asia.

The new service underscores TransNusa’s commitment to enhancing international connectivity while supporting rising travel demand between Indonesia and Malaysia.

The new Jakarta–Penang service will operate every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, with
daily flights scheduled to commence in December 2025. With a seat capacity of 174,
the airbus A320 departs from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta at 0500 hrs
and lands in Penang International Airport at around 0830 hrs. The return flight PEN-CGK
leaves at 0930 hrs with flight duration of about 1 hour and 25 minutes.

The airline will transition to daily flights, with plans to increase frequency in 2026 as part of its broader network growth roadmap.

Mr. Lee Thai Hung, Deputy Director General (Promotion II) of Tourism Malaysia, said that
TransNusa’s expansion into Penang is an important milestone in increasing connectivity
options for inbound travellers, supporting leisure, medical, business and MICE tourism.

TransNusa Group CEO Dato’ Bernard Francis said the launch of the Jakarta–Penang service is a strategic step aligned with the airline’s vision of expanding access to major regional hubs.

“Penang International Airport (PIA) is Malaysia’s second-busiest airport and provides access to more than 20 international and domestic destinations,” he said.

“It has become the strongest alternative to KLIA, offering robust long-term incentive structures that many secondary airports in the region do not yet provide. This made the Jakarta–Penang route not only viable but highly strategic for our network expansion.”

Dato’ Francis noted that the route was realised in under six months through close collaboration with Tourism Malaysia and Penang International Airport, reflecting strong cross-border support to improve passenger mobility.

Third Indonesia-Malaysia route

Penang becomes TransNusa’s third active route connecting Indonesia and Malaysia, following Jakarta–Kuala Lumpur. The airline’s growing presence in Malaysia reinforces its ambition to become a key player in the region’s travel segment.

With Visit Malaysia 2026 approaching, TransNusa continues to work with Tourism Malaysia to boost bilateral travel, including promotional activities, trade engagements, and connectivity support for industry stakeholders.

For its international flights, TransNusa not only provide premium services with competitive ticket prices, but the airline also has attractive product bundles called SEAT, SEAT-PLUS and FLEXI-PRO.

“Our passengers will enjoy check-in baggage 20kgs,” Datuk Bernard said, explaining that the baggage offering was over and above the 7kgs limit offered as a passenger’s hand carry.

“For the highest package, FLEXI-PRO, we provide services such as free baggage up to 30kgs, free to choose seats, free food, and drinks, priority at check-in and boarding counters,” Datuk Bernard explained.

In addition, TransNusa also provides its FLEXI-PRO passengers with the flexibility to change their flight schedule without restrictions and obtain refund when needed.” added Datuk Bernard.

TransNusa, which aims to ensure its passengers travel with ease and comfort, has also configured their A320s with a 174-seat configuration, which allows for passengers to enjoy about 30 inches of legroom, comparable to the experience passengers would get in a full-service airline.

“We are committed to providing affordable and competitive ticket prices, while still providing premium services to our customers.” stressed Datuk Bernard.

About TransNusa

The three-year-old TransNusa, led by aviation expert and veteran, Datuk Bernard made waves in the aviation industry with its unique domestic and international business development and growth strategy.

Within just 6 months of operations, in 2023, the airline, known then as a new player with new rules, launched its first international route between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, followed by the launch of scheduled flights between Jakarta and Singapore.

TransNusa, which established itself as a Premium Service Carrier, made headlines in Malaysia, Singapore, China and around the world with news of being the first airline in Indonesia to introduce new exciting routes. In 2023, during its first year of operations, TransNusa became the second Indonesian airline to receive approval to fly to China. In 2024, TransNusa became the first in the world to develop and introduce a new domestic route connecting Bali and Manado. In October 2025, TransNusa added yet another milestone by becoming the first Indonesian airline and second airline in the world to launch scheduled flights from Manado to Guangzhou, China.