January 12, 2012
Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X will stop flying to Europe and India from its Kuala Lumpur base due to high taxes and jet fuel prices, it said on its Facebook page on Thursday.
"AirAsia X will concentrate capacity in our core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea," the carrier said.
Air Asia X's exit from the European market comes after the European Union implemented an emission trading scheme that put carriers from North America and Asia at a disadvantage as their aircraft need to travel a longer distance to Europe.
The withdrawal from London and Paris means AirAsia X will compete more directly with Singapore Airlines' new long-haul subsidiary Scoot, which will launch its maiden flight to Sydney in the first half of 2012.
AirAsia X said it would suspend flights to Mumbai from January, while the services to New Delhi, London and Paris will cease in March.
AirAsia X is a separate entity from AirAsia, although both were founded by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes.
Fernandes said on his Twitter account that AirAsia will continue to fly to India. AirAsia X plans to fly to Jeddah and put on more flights to Korea, Japan, Australia and China, he added.
AirAsia X said customers who hold bookings after these dates will be offered an alternative travel option at no additional cost.
(Reuters)
Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X will stop flying to Europe and India from its Kuala Lumpur base due to high taxes and jet fuel prices, it said on its Facebook page on Thursday.
"AirAsia X will concentrate capacity in our core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea," the carrier said.
Air Asia X's exit from the European market comes after the European Union implemented an emission trading scheme that put carriers from North America and Asia at a disadvantage as their aircraft need to travel a longer distance to Europe.
The withdrawal from London and Paris means AirAsia X will compete more directly with Singapore Airlines' new long-haul subsidiary Scoot, which will launch its maiden flight to Sydney in the first half of 2012.
AirAsia X said it would suspend flights to Mumbai from January, while the services to New Delhi, London and Paris will cease in March.
AirAsia X is a separate entity from AirAsia, although both were founded by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes.
Fernandes said on his Twitter account that AirAsia will continue to fly to India. AirAsia X plans to fly to Jeddah and put on more flights to Korea, Japan, Australia and China, he added.
AirAsia X said customers who hold bookings after these dates will be offered an alternative travel option at no additional cost.
(Reuters)