AirAsia X to Suspend Christchurch Flights

AirAsia X is to suspend its flights to Christchurch in New Zealand, as part of the realignment of its network to focus on its core markets.

The current four times weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Christchurch will be suspended with the last flight on 30 May 2012 (from Kuala Lumpur) and 31 May 2012 (from Christchurch).

AirAsia X said it will offer travellers who hold bookings after these dates an option of a full refund, a reroute to another AirAsia X destination (e.g. Australia to Kuala Lumpur or Kuala Lumpur to North Asia), or a rebook of a return flight prior to 31 May 2012. The airline said that all changes will be made at no additional cost to mitigate the inconvenience caused as a result of the withdrawal.

The suspension of Christchurch, New Zealand is a move made subsequent to the airline’s suspension of its European and Indian routes early this year to improve operating cost efficiencies and concentrate capacity in AirAsia X core markets of Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Iran.

“The decision to withdraw from Christchurch was a difficult one, but was made taking into account our strategic focus in consolidating our network on markets where we have built up stable, profitable routes. We have, since the suspension of our flights to Europe and India, increased flight frequencies to Tokyo, and opened up a new route to Sydney, Australia. AirAsia X will continue to further expand in its core markets and add frequencies on existing routes,” said Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X. “Our Kuala Lumpur - Christchurch route has performed strongly in terms of demand since our launch in April 2011, recording close to 80% loads in 2011. However, the Christchurch route has been impacted by the spiraling cost of jet fuel. Since the launch of the route, jet fuel prices have increased in excess of 30%, and are currently still at very high levels. The high cost of fuel has compromised our ability to offer our renowned low fares.”

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