Budget carrier AirAsia X Indonesia will cease scheduled services from the end of January 2019 and instead operate as a non-scheduled commercial carrier, the airline’s parent company AirAsia X Berhad announced in its third quarter results.
Disclosing the decision, AirAsia X group CEO, Nadda Buranasiri, said: “With the challenging operational environment in Indonesia, primarily due to the series of natural disasters that occurred in proximity to Bali, the company is underway to evaluate the available options for our Indonesian associate to ensure sustainability of the company with the last schedule flight from Bali to Narita will end in January 2019.
“Moving forward, AirAsia X Indonesia will operate on a non-scheduled commercial airline basis.”
The struggling financial performance of its Indonesia arm, along with rising fuel costs, was cited as key factors in the company’s third quarter financial results. The company posted a net loss of RM197.5 million (US$47 million) – more than four times the RM43.3 million (US$10.3 million) loss it posted in the same period in 2017.
That being said, Buranasiri remained optimistic about the company’s situation going forward, stating that the “long-term story of AirAsia X Malaysia and Thailand looks compelling” with forward bookings for the fourth quarter of 2018 as 2019 “ahead of last year’s records”.
AirAsia X focuses on Australia, China and North Asia, with 2018 also seeing it expand its presence in India with the launch of flights to Jaipur and Amritsar.
