Virgin Australia and Qantas are fighting over who will be awarded some lucrative flights to Bali, and the former says handing those services to its larger rival will weaken competition on the popular route.

But Qantas, which wants the flights – about 2460 seats per week – for its low-cost Jetstar subsidiary, says it will offer “significantly lower” airfares than its competitors. The airline, which is facing scrutiny from the competition regulator, said Jetstar’s fares were between 14 per cent and 68 per cent cheaper than those of other carriers.