Bungee jumping + sheep + kiwifruit = New Zealand?
AirAsia has hinted on social media that it will reintroduce flights to New Zealand after cancelling Christchurch routes several years ago.
The Malaysian-based airline’s chief executive Benyamin Ismail posted a series of suggestive tweets showing photos of sheep and bungee jumpers, which Ismail said represented the carrier’s next destination.
“Millions of sheep waiting,” he said.
AirAsia’s Facebook page also posted a picture of a kiwifruit decorated like an aircraft.
The airline once had a four times weekly service from Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch, but after introducing that route in 2011 it was canned a year later because it was running at a loss.
In March last year Ismail again hinted that a return to New Zealand was imminent, saying it was just a matter of time, and suggesting early 2016 would be a possibility.
“New Zealand’s in my plans. I’m just deciding whether I want to do it towards the end of the year – we have the capacity for it – or whether we want to do it at the start of next year,” Ismail told the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
At the time commentators from CAPA predicted a route to Auckland would be more profitable and would rival Malaysia Airlines’s popular service, which could see a drop in prices.
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On Sunday social media users guessed New Zealand was next on the airline’s itinerary, with the majority appearing excited at the prospect.
“PLEASE TELL ME IT IS NEW ZEALAND!!!” one Twitter user responded.
On Facebook, users said they “couldn’t wait” for the service.