Indonesia AirAsia X (IDX, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) will transition into a non-scheduled carrier in early 2019, AirAsia X Group CEO, Nadda Buranasiri, has confirmed.
According to the carrier's 3Q18 financial statements, given the increasingly difficult Indonesian market, Indonesia AirAsia X will cease scheduled services in early 2019 in favour of continuing as a non-scheduled airline. It did not clarify whether the transition means it will continue as a production carrier for other AirAsia X units or as an open ACMI/charter operator.
“With the challenging operating 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" while "the last scheduled flight from Denpasar to Tokyo Narita will end in January 2019," Buranasiri said.
Ahead of the transition, Indonesia AirAsia X's fleet of eight A320-200s has been returned to Indonesia AirAsia (QZ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) leaving only a pair of A330-300s which are leased from Aviator Capital and KDAC Aircraft Leasing. It is recalled that under Indonesian law, non-scheduled carriers are required to maintain a fleet of at least three aircraft of which at least one must be owned.
