KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — AirAsia X is optimistic it can continue to draw customers on its long haul flights despite plans to raise fares by 16 per cent, as the budget carrier works on paring down its losses.

The long haul arm of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia is expected to increase flight fares by 16 per cent and prices of ancillary services such as in-flight Wi-Fi, food and duty-free products by 20 per cent, Australian daily, Sydney Morning Herald, reported today.

“We are already seeing improvement in average base fare early this year,” acting chief executive Benyamin Ismail was quoted as saying.

Earlier today, international newswire Reuters reported that AirAsia X Bhd shares fell as much as 8 per cent to a record low following a fourth quarter net loss by the airline.

AirAsia X reported a net loss of RM168.43 million in the fourth-quarter, from RM132.6 million in the same period a year earlier, on higher operating costs and foreign exchange losses.

Despite the losses, Benyamin said they are confident of bumping up their revenue through the various on-board services and products offered.

“Ancillary income remains as one of our key revenue components and this year some of the exciting ancillary products and services initiatives besides onboard Wi-Fi will be to create a mall in the sky via duty free and a forex card,” he said.

On the regional front, AirAsia chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said they are working on “additional enhancements” to the planned AirAsia Asean pass to attract visitors from non-Asean countries to the region.

He said the pass will “bridge communities and attract more foreign tourists to the region”.

“It’s the perfect instrument to promote Asean integration.

“We are working on additional enhancements that will further benefit guests travelling from non-Asean destinations,” Fernandes said.

The pass, which offers flight “credits” to visit up to 20 destinations within Asean, was initially planned for a January launch but has since been postponed after the fatal crash of AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 in December.