AirAsia passengers surge 19 per cent in Q1

The total number of passengers increased by 19 per cent to approximately 9.8 million, in line with the 21-per-cent increase in capacity. Year on year, the group took deliveries of 22 additional aircraft, bringing its total fleet at the end of March 2013 to 122.

Malaysia AirAsia’s (MAA) load factor remained resilient at 79 per cent in the quarter, despite taking on 2 additional aircraft this quarter. This brought up the total number of aircraft operated by MAA at the end of the period to 66, an additional 9 aircraft as compared to the same period last year. 

MAA took advantage of the strong season in January and February, but March was slower on account of the slight impact of the Lahad Datu incident in Sabah and the termination of the Kuala Lumpur-Colombo route in February. Total passengers carried were approximately 5.2 million, a 7-per-cent increase year on year. Capacity increased by 9 per cent year on year to cater to the additional frequencies, especially in the domestic front and few Indonesian routes.

Thai AirAsia (TAA) again recorded a commendable load factor of 87 per cent in the quarter. Approximately 2.6 million passengers were carried, which was an increase of 20 per cent from the same period last year. The improvement was mainly a result of the increase in frequencies in domestic destinations such as Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat in response to growing demand during the high season. TAA added an additional aircraft this quarter, bringing its total number of aircraft to 28.

Indonesia AirAsia (IAA) posted a high load factor of 75 per cent as a result of a 40-per-cent increase in capacity from the first quarter of last year, after the introduction of five new routes: Makassar-Manado; Makassar-Surabaya; Makassar-Denpasar, Makassar-Kuala Lumpur, and Semarang-Singapore. Total passengers carried grew 35 per cent to approximately 1.7 million. At the end of March, IAA has a total fleet of 22 aircraft.

Philippines’ AirAsia (PAA) recorded a load factor of 76 per cent for the first three months of the year, despite only starting its operations in March last year. Total passengers carried were around 0.144 million. PAA had a total of 2 aircraft in operations at the end of the first quarter.

AirAsia Japan (AAJ) recorded a load factor of 70 per cent for the quarter, carrying approximately 0.182 million passengers. AAJ recently introduced its second hub in Nagoya, and has launched one new route this quarter – Nagoya-Fukuoka.