Sydney flights rumoured for low cost Malaysian airline

Malaysian low-cost long haul carrier AirAsia X has just announced a "re-alignment" of its routes which will see it withdraw services to Europe and India.

The move comes amid widespread speculation of the imminent announcement of a Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route for the carrier.

AirAsia X flights to Mumbai will be suspended effective 31 Jan, while the daily operation from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi will cease from 22 Mar.

The six weekly London flights will stop from 31 Mar, while AirAsia X will also withdraw from Paris Orly with the last flight on 30 Mar this year.

CEO Azran Osman-Rani said the carrier intends to "concentrate capacity in our core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea where we have built up stable, profitable routes within an infrastucture that supports low cost services.

"We intend to open up new routes within these markets, as well as add frequencies on existing routes," he added.

Osman-Rani said the European pullout was due to ongoing weak demand for air travel from Europe - along with the new European Emissions Trading Scheme and the escalating Air Passenger Duty tax in the UK.

He also cited continuing visa restrictions for travel between India and Malaysia, as well as an increase in airport and handling charges which had resulted in a structure "not conducive to the low cost model".

Unconfirmed media reports from Malaysia this afternoon claim that AirAsia X has won the right to operate flights to Sydney, with operations to commence as early as Apr and ticket sales from next week.

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