AirAsia X to axe New Zealand service

The move is part of the carrier's drive to consolidate operations on its "core markets" of Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Iran.

KUALA LUMPUR: The long-haul arm of budget carrier AirAsia said Monday it would axe flights to New Zealand, its latest move to shed unprofitable routes and re-focus on the group’s core Asian market.

Malaysia-based AirAsia X, which will cut its four-weekly flights to Christchurch, has already announced plans to cease service to London, Paris and Delhi this month, after scrapping flights to Mumbai in January.

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said in a statement that jet fuel prices had risen more than 30 percent since Christchurch routes began in April 2011.

“The high cost of fuel has compromised our ability to offer our renowned low fares,” he said.

The move was part of the carrier’s drive to consolidate operations on its “core markets” of “Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Iran”, he said.

Former record industry executive Tony Fernandes plucked ailing AirAsia from its deathbed in 2001 and quickly turned it into one of the aviation sector’s biggest successes.

Fernandes established a successful template for AirAsia that included flying into secondary airports in major cities, with their lower landing costs.

Its network spread quickly in Southeast Asia and Fernandes in 2007 launched AirAsia X to serve long-haul routes to China, India and eventually Europe.

But the group’s recent pull-back from the longer routes has indicated they were bleeding money.

AirAsia X will now focus on medium-haul flights within Asia, while main carrier AirAsia continues with routes up to four hours’ flight from its Kuala Lumpur hub.

AirAsia said last month its 2011 profits were halved to $186 million, citing rising fuel costs.

The AirAsia group now currently serve about 80 cities in more than 20 countries.

- AFP