Air Asia X to end its Abu Dhabi service

UAE FLIGHTS: Air Asia X will end its service from Abu Dhabi airport on February 21, 2010.

Budget airline AirAsia X has announced on Sunday it is stopping its Abu Dhabi service for “commercial reasons”, it has been reported.

According to the National, the long-haul arm of the low-cost carrier Air Asia has started to inform customers its last flight from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur will leave on February 21.

An “underwhelming” demand for tickets, uneconomical aircraft and the effects of the global financial crisis on the aviation industry are reasons for the move, the airline’s CEO Azran Osman-Rani said.

“We are not going to be flying, period, to Abu Dhabi until we figure out what’s the right strategy, the right hub, the right aircraft and we’ll probably come back again,” Azran told the paper.

The route was served by a four-engine Airbus A340, with 256 economy class seats and 30 premium seats, but plans include changing this to a smaller, twin-engine A330, the paper reported.

More than 30 weeks of flights until October will be cancelled, but customers will get a refund, Azan said.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company confirmed the airline’s decision.

A spokesman told the paper: “AirAsia X has confirmed to Abu Dhabi Airports Company [ADAC] that, from late February 2010, the airline will temporarily suspend its current, five-times-per-week, service to Abu Dhabi.

“ADAC looks forward to the airline recommencing its service to Abu Dhabi International Airport in the near future.”

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READERS' COMMENTS

sad news
Posted by aslamk, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 2 February 2010 at 15:54 UAE time


I have too become an innocent target of this fine Air Asia airline.
I had an opportunity to travel earlier and was pleased with the prompt on time service. I had therefore booked for 1st week of March 2010 to visit again K/L. Its an utter disappointment. No doubt the money will be refunded but the confirmed holidays and other bookings in line who will reimburse !

Disappointed
Posted by Rima, Dubai on Monday 1 February 2010 at 13:03 UAE time


I'd already booked to flights from AUH to KL on Air Asia, despite living in Dubai. I'm quite disappointed as I was planning a few more trips to Asia via KL on AA.

I was one of the lucky ones and managed to book a flight from AUH to KL and on to Bali for 500 AED in total. I heard an interview with an Air Asia exec on the radio, promoting the special fare of 200 AED to KL.

Here's hoping they return soon. In the meantime, I wonder if I'll receive my refund...

“underwhelming” advertising
Posted by Alex, Dubai on Monday 1 February 2010 at 11:00 UAE time


Is it any great surprise that there was “underwhelming” demand? I cannot remember seeing any advertising for Air Asia X in Dubai and so, although I knew they were planning to launch an Abu Dhabi service, didn't know they actually had. A bit of a mistake given that most of its likely customers are presumeably in Dubai?

I've used Air Asia in Asia and it's great. With Air Asia X you could go from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne (via KL) for about AED3000. However, it doesn't take a genius to work out that if people don't know your service exists, they are not going to use it.

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