AirAsia X not planning to launch services to another Middle East destination

AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, stated the carrier has no plans to launch services to Dubai or elsewhere in the Middle East, after announcing plans to suspend Abu Dhabi service in Feb-2010 - see Route Changes Table for more information (Emirates Business 24/7, 02-Feb-2010). Mr Osman-Rani stated the carrier hopes to resume the service in the future, but added Abu Dhabi's plans to launch its own LCC had no role in AirAsia X's decision.

AirAsia X: "We are not evaluating any other Middle East options and we are not considering Dubai. Our pull-out is not related to Abu Dhabi airport or Abu Dhabi as a city. We are keen to return back to Abu Dhabi once we can resume with sufficient scale and better aircraft economics…We will resume once we are able to have a more economical aircraft to service this route. We remain optimistic about the potential of Abu Dhabi, and we believe with the right aircraft, the economic upside can be very promising, especially if we can pair up Abu Dhabi with another on-route destination…We don't have a specific time frame in mind yet [on when to resume the service]," Azran Osman-Rani, CEO. Source: Emirates Business 24/7, 02-Jan-2010.