Low-cost airline AirAsia X, known for its cheap flights which includes $800 return flights between Australia and Europe, have decided to pull the plug on the budget European fllights in the next 10 weeks.
This follows the introduction of new airline taxes through the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) on top of hefty airport taxes.
The taxes, put in place in the naem of the enviroment, have been criticised as a money-making scheme by European countries and have made the most impact to low-cost carriers. AirAsia X have decided to discontinue their London and Paris flights, whilst setting up routes from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney and some Chinese destinations.
“The implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and the escalating Air Passenger Duty taxes in UK, which will rise yet again in April 2012, has forced our decision to withdraw our services to Europ,” AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman Rani says.
“We intend to concentrate capacity in our core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea where we have built up stable, profitable routes within an infrastructure that supports low-cost services.” Passengers are also not free from the blow of rising travel taxes in Europe, with governments directly reaching into their pockets.
Britain’s Air Passenger Duty currently stands at $A128 per long-haul traveller, with another hike expected this year. Meanwhile, Germany’s new ‘eco-tax’ is up to $55 per head and Austria’s up to $43.
