Regional connectivity: Air Asia X ends all flights to Mauritius

The honeymoon ended after five months for Air Asia X. The low-cost Malaysian airline has announced this week that its last flight to Mauritius is scheduled for Saturday, March 25.

Bali or Perth at a break-neck prices, it’s all a past dream for travellers! Air Asia X announced on Monday that it definitely draws a line on Mauritius, breaking the heart of thousands of Mauritians who were planning to explore the countries of Southeast Asia this year. Not surprisingly, after five months of operation, the Malaysian low-cost airline has sent a message to local travel agencies to inform them that its last flight to Sir Seewoosagur International Airport is scheduled for Saturday, March 25.

Customers who have booked their tickets well in advance will be refunded, to their displeasure. “The biggest problem is that there are clients who can’t understand why Air Asia X is going to stop serving Mauritius, some of whom are finding it hard to hide their anger. A client who paid a ticket at Rs 8,000 the told me: “I do not want to travel, others who are in Australia have panicked.” They thought they were not going to be able to go home,” says Charles Ng from Atom Travel Agency.

“It is a shock and customers are particularly disappointed, and I hope that the healthy competition that has taken place with the arrival of Air Asia X will continue. By cutting ticket prices, the low-cost airline helped to democratize air travel. Hopefully prices will not head upwards once more,” said Varsha Ramchurn, from Silver Wings Travel agency and President of the Mauritius Association of IATA Travel Agents (MAITA).

Rogers Aviation, who has been acting as General Sales Agent (GSA) for Air Asia X issued a communiqué after the receipt of the e-mail from the Malaysian company. Rogers Aviation explained that Air Asia X’s decision stems from a “network restructuring exercise”. The Malaysian company said later in the afternoon of Monday that it wants to focus on its buoyant markets, that is Australia, China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

“Air Asia X is a company in search of easy profits, that’s all,” said the manager of an agency who prefers to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “The Asian market is very important for Mauritius, and Air Asia X has allowed Mauritius to reach this market because we must not forget that it is a giant in this region, the reasons for its withdrawal are not clear. Will certainly affect growth on the market, “said ex-Deputy Prime Minister and ex-Minister of Tourism, Xavier-Luc Duval.

The cessation of operations could bode new prospects for the national flagship carrier, said Georges Chung on Radio Plus. The Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister sees an opportunity for Air Mauritius to dive into the corridor serving Kuala Lumpur. Instead of three flights, it will be able to offer four to five flights a week.

This departure of the low-cost carrier does not surprise Megh Pillay, former Chief Executive Officer of Air Mauritius. “It was predictable, and if there is no demand, it will not stay, even if it is a low-cost airline, it can not cover its operational costs through massive injection of subsidies,” he points out. “We have never seen so much capacity deployed and at such low prices. It is clear that, despite everything, it did not attract Asian tourists as promised,” he said.

“Singaporeans and Malaysians are not frequent travellers or they do not have as much interest in coming to spend a holiday on the island as some would like to believe. In commercial aviation, the supply of seat capacity follows the demand. To believe or to make believe the contrary is pure naivety,” claims Megh Pillay. He considers that those who wanted to sell the dream to the government have rather wasted time and money to Air Mauritius.

“Opening up our market to such an operator during peak periods, knowing that it will leave from the first low season, will allow market skimming, which can only be detrimental to Air Mauritius. Our goals in terms of tourism expansion,” Megh Pillay said.