Bali is now the top international travel destination for Australians, with more than 1.6 million Australians flying to the Indonesian island in 2025 – and both Qantas and Virgin want a larger slice of that pie.

Up for grabs: an extra 5,000 seats per week on flights between Australia and Indonesia, offered to Australian airlines under a recent bilateral agreement between the two countries.

(Indonesian carriers, led by Garuda Indonesia, can also tap into a same-sized allocation of flights.)

Earlier this month Qantas lodged a bid for just over 4,500 of those 5,000 seats per week – but Virgin Australia today staked its own claim, going over the top with an ask of “5,086 additional seats per week in each direction between Australia and Indonesia.”

As a result, both airlines will now need to make their case to Australia’s International Air Services Commission, which will decide how to divvy up those 5,000 extra seats between both players.

Virgin is already pointing out that it currently holds just 20% of capacity available to Australian airlines under the bilateral arrangement, and has put forward the launch of double-daily Perth–Bali flights (in fact, as many as 17 per week).

Virgin also wants to boost the number of flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Bali, adding between three and four flights per week to the current roster on each route – resulting in anywhere from 10 per week (Brisbane-Bali) to 17 per week (Melbourne-Bali).

Of course, this relies on Virgin getting the full 5,000+ seats-per-week allocation, which is not going to happen any more than Qantas will be handed an extra 4,500+ seats per week.

The reality will fall somewhere in between, and probably favour levelling up the competition, such as Virgin’s Perth–Bali flights and some additional flights from the east coast capitals.

As previously reported, Qantas wants to mount its own major push into Indonesia, with the launch of direct Brisbane-Bali and Perth-Jakarta flights, while ramping up Melbourne-Jakarta to become daily.

Also in the frame: Jetstar flights from the new Western Sydney airport to Bali.

“If approved, the proposal will allow Jetstar to directly connect Western Sydney with Bali, one of Australia’s most popular holiday destinations, and add capacity between Jakarta and Australia’s major cities, supporting the growing trade and business relationship,” a Qantas spokeswoman said.

Read more: Qantas eyes new flights to Indonesia