EVA Air, one of Taiwan's leading international carriers, said on Aug. 11 that it will suspend flights to Auckland from Sep. 1.

"The Taipei-Auckland route is incurring losses on lower-than-expected demand. Worse, high oil prices have further impacted our bottom line," an EVA Air spokeswoman said.

While she did not detail the financial data for the route, EVA Air posted a net loss of US$73.4 million in the three months to March, after slumping US$1.87 billion into the red in 2007.

The spokeswoman said the company will closely monitor market conditions to determine whether it will resume the service in future.

The carrier provides two Taipei-Auckland flights a week after it started the service in 1994.

In July, EVA Air announced it would cut 60-80 flights over three months to November to combat fuel cost pressure.