AirAsia X pulls out of New Zealand — again

AirAsia X is suspending services out of Auckland from early February.

The airline says it aims to be back soon as possible.

AirAsia X said in November it would re- route its Auckland service to Kuala Lumpur via Sydney to a stop in the Gold Coast.

But now it has ditched New Zealand altogether and i s offering refunds for affected passengers.

AirAsia X chief executive Benyamin Ismail said: “We truly regret having to make this tough decision to temporarily suspend our services to and from Auckland from early February next year”.

“However, Auckland remains one of our guests’ favourite bucket list destinations and we aim to return again in the future, once market conditions are more favourable and once more aircraft resume operations.”

He said, like other airlines, it was working hard to reactivate more aircraft as soon as possible and will certainly reconsider Auckland services again in the future.

“We sincerely apologise to guests affected by this decision who are booked to fly with us to and from Auckland from early February next year and will ensure that we prioritise guest reimbursements as soon as possible.”

AirAsia X announced the suspension of services between AucklandSydney and Auckland- Kuala Lumpur from February 2, 2024 and the reinstatement of the Auckland- Gold Coast- Kuala Lumpur services from February 3, 2024.

The airline has taken all flights off sale to and from Auckland.

The airline faced strong competition on the Tasman from dominant carriers Air New Zealand and Qantas. And while AirAsia X only flew three times a week it offered some extra competition, helped put downward pressure on prices and operated a widebody A330 plane.

AirAsia X is the long- haul arm of

We sincerely apologise to guests affected by this decision. Benyamin Ismail

Air Asia and both are part of a wider group with the new name, Capital A, reflecting its increasingly broad business beyond airlines.

AirAsia X suffered badly when Covid hit because it was a long- haul carrier when borders were shut. It had to re- negotiate debt in 2021 but built back aggressively and has returned to profitability.

The airline previously operated flights Auckland- Gold Coast flights but ditched them in February 2019, well before the pandemic hit.

The airline flew to Christchurch from Malaysia for a short time but quit the service as demand dropped following the 2011 earthquakes.