Long-haul, low-cost carrier AirAsia X has ended recent speculation by confirming the closure of its Kuala Lumpur – Christchurch route from May 31, 2012. The suspension is part of its network realignment project to focus on core markets following its partnership with Malaysia Airlines and which has already resulted in the culling of flights to Europe and India but which will see growth in the Australia and Taiwanese markets.
The airline currently provides a four times weekly offering on the route and is the sole operator between the two cities. Malaysia Airlines offers the only other direct link between Malaysia and New Zealand, a six times weekly link between Kuala Lumpur and Auckland. In the past year an estimated 146,000 O&D passengers travelled between the two countries with around 54.1 per cent flying to/from Christchurch.
“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,” said Azran Osman-Rani, Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia X. “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.”
“Our Kuala Lumpur - Christchurch route has performed strongly in terms of demand since our launch in April 2011, recording close to 80 per cent 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 per cent, and are currently still at very high levels. The high cost of fuel has compromised our ability to offer our renowned low fares,” he added.
News that AirAsia X will stop the flight to Christchurch has been met with dismay by officials at Christchurch International Airport. “We are bitterly disappointed at the airline’s decision to end the Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch direct flights, but understand the situation AirAsia X finds itself in,” said Jim Boult, Chief Executive Officer, Christchurch International Airport. He said forward bookings for the next couple of months are “promising,” despite the closure of connecting flights to Europe “on which many travellers relied”.
“We are very sorry to see AirAsia X depart, but sincerely hope we can welcome it back in the future. CIAL had invested years of work into attracting the carrier to Christchurch and we hope that work can be banked as an investment in a future service,” he added. ”I feel greatly for the tourism industry in the South Island. Many operators have told us how much the AirAsia X service has delivered in direct new business, so this loss will be felt through the entire industry”.
AirAsia X said it will concentrate capacity on what it describes as its “core markets” of Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Iran, where it intends to “build a leadership position in the long-haul, low-cost aviation sector” over the course of this year. In the past few days the Malaysian carrier revealed it will increase the current daily link to Taipei Taoyuan to an eleven times weekly schedule from June 22, 2012 and its daily service to Perth to a nine times weekly basis from June 24, 2012.
“AirAsia X is responding to the strong and growing travel demand to and from Taiwan and Australia. The demand for travel to Perth and Taipei has recorded strong average passenger loads in excess of 85% in 2011,” said Azran Osman-Rani, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia X. “The timings of the new additional frequencies would further provide our guests from Malaysia and the surrounding region flexibility in their travel and better connectivity into Australia and Taiwan and vice versa from the cities into Kuala Lumpur, where guests are able to tap on our vast route network of over 80 destinations across South East Asia and beyond.”
AirAsia X commenced services to Perth in November 2008 and since then has carried over 750,000 passengers to and from the Australian city. The airline currently also operates flights to Gold Coast and Melbourne, and will add Sydney to its network later this year. The Kuala Lumpur – Perth route is also served by Malaysia Airlines and an estimated 279,000 O&D passengers travelled on the route in the past year. AirAsia X’s own share of traffic on this route has fallen by around six percentage points in the past 12 months, although it remains the dominant carrier in the market with an estimated 65 per cent share of traffic.
The Taiwanese capital, Taipei, joined the AirAsia X network less than a year later in July 2009 and already AirAsia X has carried more than 740,000 passengers between the city and Kuala Lumpur. It competes directly with China Airlines, EVA Air and Malaysia Airlines in this market, where O&D demand has slipped by around 3.8 per cent in the past year to around 563,000 passengers.
“The additional flights will open up new horizons for commercial activities and boost tourism in the ASEAN region, Taiwan and Australia. We are confident that the network realignment plan would strategically expand our growth in Australia and Taiwan,” added Azran Osman-Rani.
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