Indonesia AirAsia X to cease scheduled operations in January

Indonesia AirAsia X< will cease scheduled operations in January 2019 and operate as a non-scheduled commercial airline thereafter. The carrier’s only scheduled operation – a seven-times weekly service between Denpasar and Tokyo Narita using an A330 – will be suspended in January, the AirAsia X Group disclosed in its third quarter results.

“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,” says AirAsia X group CEO Nadda Buranasiri.

AirAsia X Indonesia will operate on a non-scheduled commercial airline basis.” IAAX posted a net loss of $1.53 million in the third quarter of the year, compared to a profit of $2.15 million a year ago. It attributed the poor performance to a 34% jump in costs, driven by the rise in fuel prices.

During the period, it saw a 32% drop in the number of passengers carried, while load factor held steady at 80%. Average base fare climbed 21% to $146.The airline, which has struggled for some time now, also disclosed that it terminated its Jakarta-Tokyo Narita service in October. Last month, sister carrier Indonesia AirAsia said it will take over the routes and slots that IAAX had been using to operate a trio of Airbus A320s. IAAX was operating short-haul services to Denpasar, Jakarta and Surabaya.

IAAX with two A330-300s. 2005-built PK-XRA is owned and managed by Aviator Capital, while PK-XRC, also built in 2005, is owned by KDAC 2017-1 ABS Portfolio and managed by Deucalion Aviation Funds.