Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X said its decision to scrap unprofitable routes to Europe will not affect its orders of 10 Airbus A350 passenger planes, chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani said.

NONE “The A350 orders is for 2017 and beyond. Europe may have very well bounced back by then, so it is good to have options, it is good to have forward capacity.” Azran (right) told Reuters on the

sidelines of a conference in Singapore today.

The carrier may take out its two Airbus A340 planes, which served the European routes, from the fleet and lease them out, he said.

 

Last month, AirAsia X decided to pull out its services from Europe and India due to weak demand and a row over the European Union emission charges and redeploy its capacity in Asia and Australia.

The withdrawal from London and Paris also means AirAsia X will compete more directly with Qantas’ budget carrier Jetstar and Singapore Airlines’ new long-haul subsidiary Scoot, which will kick off its maiden flight to Sydney in the first half of 2012.

AirAsia X was founded by Malaysian tycoon Tony Fernandes who also runs AirAsia Bhd, one of the world’s largest short-haul low-cost carriers, which is run as a separate entity.

Azran said AirAsia X plan to list its IPO after the listing of the group’s Thailand and Indonesian affiliates. He declined to provide details.

- Reuters