Thai AirAsia flies high with record Q1 net profit
Asia Aviation, the major shareholder of Thai AirAsia, on Monday reported revenue of Bt11.64 billion and a net profit of Bt1 billion for the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Thai AirAsia had revenue of Bt11.64 billion and a record net profit of Bt1.83 billion in the period, with a load factor of 91 per cent, up 2 percentage points.
The number of passengers carried was 5.64 million, up 16 per cent year on year and higher than the carrier’s 15-per-cent growth in seat capacity.
Thai AirAsia delivered three aircraft during the quarter, taking its fleet to 59, said Tassapon Bijleveld, chief executive officer of both Thai AirAsia and Asia Aviation, which is a listed company.
Thai AirAsia saw continued growth in the first three months of the year, mainly due to its enthusiastic work in the domestic market, especially in secondary provinces in support of government policy, Tassapon added.
The airline also started operating seven new routes during the quarter: from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Ranong, Johor Bahru, Chengdu and Chumphon; from Phuket to Macau and Kunming; and from Chiang Mai to Udon Thani.
It also increased flight frequency on 12 routes from Bangkok (Don Mueang) and Pattaya (U-Tapao), while the routes from Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Tiruchirappalli, Chiang Mai to Ubon Ratchathani and Ubon Ratchathani to Pattaya (U-Tapao) were suspended as a result of route revenue and capacity management.
For the international market, Thai AirAsia continued to focus on the CLMV countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam by increasing flight frequencies to offer more options to a variety of customer bases, Tassapon said.
Together with a strong base in the Chinese market, the company sought new opportunities in the high-potential market of India in order for Thai AirAsia to grow and be able to compete in the future, he explained.
For the current quarter, Thai AirAsia is set to continue in accordance with its plan, including increased flight frequencies on popular routes, the CEO said.
Thai AirAsia aims to serve 23.2 million passengers this year and maintain its load factor at 87 per cent, and plans to add seven new aircraft to bring its fleet to 63 overall, he added.
He will serve as executive chairman, with Santisuk Klongchaiya – the current commercial director – taking over as CEO of the airline.
