KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 ― Budget carrier AirAsia Berhad’s long-haul arm AirAsia X will only start its flight to the United States next year, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported today.

The WSJ quoted an AirAsia spokesman saying that its plans to fly to Hawaii will start in the first half of next year, after a previous announcement that it would kick off in November this year.

WSJ reported that the plan to connect Kuala Lumpur and Honolulu via a stopover in Osaka, Japan was pushed back pending approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration.

In January, WSJ had reported that the planned flights will tap into the large number of Japanese tourists travelling to Hawaii.

Last month, AirAsia X Berhad flipped to a net profit in the third quarter, versus a year-ago loss, as a weaker ringgit and more capacity on flight routes led to a higher number of passengers for the Malaysian long-haul budget airline.

The carrier, which is expected to report a profit for this year after two straight annual losses, embarked on a business and organisational restructuring in 2015, news agency Reuters reported.

It has been adding capacity in Australia and increasing frequency on selected existing routes where demand is high to shore up its results.

CEO of its parent company, AirAsia Group Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has said he wants AirAsia X to expand into new destinations in Europe, the United States and Africa.