AirAsia X Announces The Return Of Gold Coast-Auckland Route

In response to popular demand, AirAsia X announced the resumption of the popular Gold Coast-Auckland service on 3 February 2024.

At the same time, the airline will discontinue operations on the Auckland-Sydney route on 31 January 2024 to facilitate the service to and from the Gold Coast.

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said: “Following a thorough network review, we have decided to suspend our services between Sydney and Auckland in late January next year. However, we remain committed to Auckland as a destination and will transfer our services from Auckland to the Gold Coast starting 3 February 2024.

“As our first route commenced just over 16 years ago, the Gold Coast remains a key leisure favourite destination for our Auckland and Asian travellers with its world-renowned white sand beaches and famous theme parks. It’s also a hugely popular destination for visiting friends and family both ways and for students studying.

“These decisions are made with thorough review and careful consideration of all relevant information. Our network will continue evolving based on several factors, primarily consumer demand. We understand the inconvenience for affected guests booked on the Sydney – Auckland route next year, so we are doing all we can to minimise any disruption by contacting them as soon as possible and offering a range of provisions, including a refund, credit to fly at another time and free of charge transfer via Gold Coast for those booked from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur.

“We will continue to monitor the situation, and if demand returns, we will consider reinstating the Sydney – Auckland service at a later date. However, for now, and as a leisure-focused airline, we are seeing more demand across the Tasman to and from the Gold Coast.”

Queensland Airports Limited Chief Commercial Officer Adam Rowe said the reintroduction of AirAsia X’s Gold Coast-Auckland service will provide travellers with more options.

“This is a welcomed addition to our network and exciting news for travellers – flights between the Gold Coast and Auckland are our busiest international connection, with more than 220,000 passengers travelling on that route since January,” he said.

“Around 60 percent of passengers travelling between the Gold Coast and New Zealand fly to or from Auckland, and the return of this service will add more than 350,000 extra seats on that route annually,” Rowe added.

“The addition of AirAsia X’s Auckland service will give our customers more choices to connect with loved ones across the Tasman while also creating more competition and helping to put downward pressure on airfares.”

From 3 February, three weekly flights from Auckland to Gold Coast will take off, connecting seamlessly to Kuala Lumpur and adding 6,786 tourist seats weekly through Gold Coast airport.

AirAsia X continues witnessing high demand for its services on many routes. It has recently increased the number of flights from Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth to Kuala Lumpur to satisfy this demand. Thai AirAsia X’s sister airline has also reinstated popular Flatbeds on flights between Sydney and Bangkok starting 27 November. Indonesia AirAsia has recently boosted frequency on the Perth-Bali route to four times daily.

More flights on popular existing routes and new destinations are being explored. They will be revealed as the airline expands across Asia and the Asia Pacific. AirAsia X connects Australia and New Zealand to the wider AirAsia Group network via its primary hub in Kuala Lumpur to over 130 destinations in Asia, including India, Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and more, at the best value prices.

Flight Schedule:
Kuala Lumpur (KUL) -Gold Coast (OOL) -Auckland (AKL) schedule effective 02/03 Feb24 

*Fares to and from Australia on sale now include all taxes and applicable charges. Other terms and conditions apply.