AirAsia X recently announced plans to return to New Zealand. The country’s largest city, Auckland will be the award-winning airline’s newest destination in March this year, after almost four years of hiatus.
The new service will commence on 22 March 2016, operating from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland, via the Gold Coast. The low-cost carrier suspended its KL-Christchurch service in 2012 due to high operational costs. The new route was unveiled at an event recently hosted by John Subritzky, New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Tony Fernandes, group CEO of AirAsia, and Benyamin Ismail, CEO of AirAsia X.
Sunset at Auckland Harbour Festival in Auckland, New Zealand. Credit: Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development Ltd.
The outbound flight, D7206, will depart KL every day at 2140 hrs and arrive in the Gold Coast at 0750 hrs the next morning. After a brief one-hour stop, the flight will then resume its journey at 0905 hrs, arriving in Auckland 1530 hrs. The return flight, D72097, will depart Auckland at 1700 hrs, arriving in the Gold Coast at 1725 hrs. It will take off again at 2140 hrs and arrive back in KL at 0400 hrs.
If you are going to fly AirAsia X to Auckland, it is good to know how to make the most of your layover time, approximately three-hour time at the Auckland Airport. Shopping should be on top of your list with the airport’s extensive duty-free shops offering cognac, beauty products, champagnes and the ever-popular confectionery products. There are plenty of dining options at the airport, including an eatery that serves authentic Southeast Asian taste, in case you miss food from home that much. The Emperor Lounge is conveniently located at the International Terminal and offers quite space, bites and sips for passengers. Avoid waste of time looking for places inside the airport by downloading the Auckland Airport app by TripIt.
The Auckland Airport mobile app comes in handy when waiting at the airport
Following all other AirAsia X’s flights, the Auckland route will be operated using a two-class, 377-seat Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with flat-bed seats in the premium cabin.
The flat-bed seats at AirAsia X’ Airbus330-300, credit: Air Asia
Following the Auckland launch, AirAsia X will serve a network of 19 destinations in nine countries: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Australia, Saudi Arabia and New Zealand.
For more information, visit www.airasia.com.
