AirAsia X may face penalty if it ends flights to Christchurch

KUALA LUMPUR: A New Zealand-based online news portal reported that budget long-haul carrier AirAsia X could be slapped with a penalty should it pull out of the KL-Christchurch-KL route.

The Press reported that Christ-church International Airport chief executive Jim Boult said the airline would have to make a refund to the airport on a joint marketing plan it had agreed to to win AirAsia X's business.

According to Boult, part of the deal was for AirAsia X to refund on a pro-rata basis some of that marketing input if it pulls out within two years. It started flights on the KL-Christchurch route on April 1 2011.

The online news portal quoted sources as saying that the airline has started preparations, including talks with Air New Zealand, for pulling out of Christchurch.

AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman-Rani did not respond to e-mailed questions.

Boult did not tell The Press the budget of the joint marketing plan or other details of the agreement between the airport and the airline.

Last June, AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman-Rani said the airline was "absolutely" committed to Christchurch for at least two years despite higher fuel prices hitting profitability on longer-haul flights.

The KL-Christchurch route is about 11 hours long.

According to Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism chief executive Tim Hunter, AirAsia X would have delivered 25,000 extra Asian visitors into Christchurch in a full 12 months.