flee 5 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X has written in to the Ministry of Transport on its plans to withdraw its services to Paris, London, Mumbai and Delhi, according to a source. It is understood that the routes are losing money and that AirAsia X could stop flying there as early as February. AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani neither confirmed nor denied this. “I hereby confirm that AirAsia X has not made any decisions on our routes, whether to add new routes or cancel existing routes. Not least of which there has not been any approvals from Ministry of Transport,” he said via e-mail in response to questions sent to him. Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha did not respond to a text message on the matter. It is not known if alternative arrangements are being made for AirAsia X passengers who have booked flights post-February. A quick check of its booking engine yesterday shows that flights for London and Paris are available up to October 2012. According to the source, various reasons were cited for the withdrawal. These include the implementation of Emissions Trading privateScheme (ETS) over Europe come January 1 2012, visa restrictions and additional airport fees in India. The European Union’s ETS scheme calls for airlines to pay up for carbon emissions it has not already accounted for. Come January 1, AirAsia X is imposing a carbon offset surcharge of RM80 (return) for its flights to Europe. The Indian market has been especially tough for AirAsia X given the visa restrictions for the market, which is believed to have driven passengers to use travel agents for their bookings. India bars tourist visa holders from returning to the country within two months of leaving. AirAsia X, which started operating to Stansted Airport in March 2009, relocated to Gatwick in October this year. Flights to Paris Orly started this year. Azran had reportedly said in early November that the airline was reviewing its network “but would not make drastic changes”. The long-haul carrier has a fleet of 11 aircraft servicing 14 destinations. These include destinations to Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, China, Iran, New Zealand, India and Japan. Under a share swap deal with AirAsia Bhd founders Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, Khazanah Nasional Bhd has the option of purchasing a 10 per cent stake in AirAsia X. Source Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Withdrawing from Paris & London? That's a shocker! Or did they made an arrangement with MH to withdraw from Europe while MH scales back AU ops? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 I think that with LGW, the double whammy of APD and ETS makes it very marginal. I am not sure what kind of losses they are making (probably small since loads are quite good) but if it was a big loss, they would have cut the routes very promptly (like AUH). I wonder what they will do with the fuel guzzling A343's if they cut European routes. As for the Indian routes, they have not been doing so well. So if there are cuts, I suspect that these will be the ones to be cut first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alberttky 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Maybe they need the aircraft for SYD? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Maybe they need the aircraft for SYD? Probable - D7's management will be constantly looking to improve profitability since they cannot expand their fleet due to the delays in KLIA2's construction. If SYD is going to be more profitable than the Indian routes, they will not hesitate to do that! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kee Hooi Yen 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Maybe they need the aircraft for SYD? That was my first thinking too. But without London & Paris, D7 no longer providing 'kangaroo route' Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alberttky 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 That was my first thinking too. But without London & Paris, D7 no longer providing 'kangaroo route' No need Kangaroo route lah... let the big boys e.g SQ / CX / EK / QR / QF slaughter each other on the route. D7 just focus on bringing the aussies to this part of the world. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Y. J. Foo 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 If D7 cans LGW and ORY routes, what will happen to the A340s? After all OZ and Asian routes don't need the ranges the 340s provide there's little reason for them to keep these. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ariff A. 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 If D7 cans LGW and ORY routes, what will happen to the A340s? After all OZ and Asian routes don't need the ranges the 340s provide there's little reason for them to keep these. Maybe for Africa Route.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike P 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Total sadness if they axe the London and Paris route... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KK Lee 5 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X has written in to the Ministry of Transport on its plans to withdraw its services to Paris, London, Mumbai and Delhi, according to a source. Does D7 need MoT permission to suspend flight? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Does D7 need MoT permission to suspend flight? Chinese saying : The times now is not the same as days of the past Apart from all those extra taxes to be imposed, I guess they could also be girding up for the widely anticipated european recession next year. Much less disposable income to be made available for exotic vacations ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michgyver 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Uncle Tony: Give me Sydney route, or I'll withdraw from London and Paris... Blur Kong: Errrr... ahem... can wait after Elections? Uncle Azran: We can't wait. Sydney or nothing. Blur Kong: I need to ask Rosmah first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC Sim 2 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Maybe AirAsia X can dump A340 fleet on new premium carrier that Malaysia Airlines wants to establish .... KC Sim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leon t 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 surprise too that D7 may likely drop London n Pris - but then again its usual fares are too expensive for a LCC as its just a like rm300 to rm400 diff from even BA or Emirates promotional fares. Its probably better to get rid of the guzzling A340s too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 Maybe AirAsia X can dump A340 fleet on new premium carrier that Malaysia Airlines wants to establish .... KC Sim Why do they need to dump those on the new premium carrier? They're using 738s for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 D7 CEO Azran Tweets: not entertaining rumour-based journalism Looks like the article is written based on rumours. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teoh Z Yao 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 (edited) Except for having to purchase foods and drinks, I found flights on D7 very enjoyable. I would choose to fly on D7 again in place of MH or other airlines to Europe, etc. The reason is that even full fledge airlines are only a little better than D7 in terms of service and the fare is substantially higher. Scraping the routes to LGW and Orly would be a loss to me (provided there's no fare height). Edited December 20, 2011 by Teoh Z Yao Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Waiping 12 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 This is interesting. I wonder is it really about the route and profitability or is it related to something else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Azizul Ramli 2 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 D7 CEO Azran Tweets: Looks like the article is written based on rumours. Watched the news over the TV. Azran denied the alleged dropping of LGW, ORY, DEL and BOM by D7. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mulyadir Fitri 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 An insider in AK told me that this rumour has been going around among D7 staffs for quite some time, especially for the London route. Cost too high. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 One thing we have to bear in mind, a lot of rumours that are reported in the Malaysian media do eventually come true... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kenneth Chong WT 0 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 i'm too shocked to say anything...it's sad...just sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
H C Chai 4 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 This 'rumour' could be damaging to D7 as it may put people off from booking flights with them... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted December 20, 2011 i'm too shocked to say anything...it's sad...just sad. I would be sad too if they got rid of 'my' plane Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
