AirAsia X, the long-haul subsidiary of Southeast Asia's largest low-cost airline, AirAsia, announced on Monday fuel surcharges that will lead to an increase in ticket prices, as well as a restructuring of its routes, due to the energy crisis stemming from the war in Iran. «Amid global uncertainty and persistent supply chain issues, (…) we need to adjust our fares, including fuel surcharges across our network,» said AirAsia X CEO Bo Lingum in a statement, without specifying when they will be reflected in ticket prices. Based in Malaysia, the airline joins other Asian transport sector groups — a continent heavily dependent on crude oil imports from the Middle East — that in recent weeks have decided to increase their fares due to energy insecurity generated by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the context of the United States and Israel's war against Iran. This strategic channel channels around 20% of the world's crude oil in peacetime and has become one of the main focal points of tension in the Middle East conflict. In China, airlines such as Xiamen Airlines, China United Airlines, Spring Airlines, and China Southern Airlines have announced fuel surcharges, while in Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) are expected to double them for international flights in June and July, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo. AirAsia X has also «restructured» its flight plans in the face of the energy crisis, deploying its fleet to routes that can absorb a higher volume of passengers and offer better performance, such as Almaty (Kazakhstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), and Istanbul (Turkey), according to Bo Lingum. «As we recover and return to operating at full fleet capacity, unit costs will improve,» the CEO indicated. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), fuel accounts for up to 30% of airlines' operating costs, so significant fluctuations in international oil prices impact them substantially. The price of Brent crude increased by 55% in the first month of the war, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) by 48.76%.
