KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group Bhd reported a healthy group-wide load factor of 80% for the first quarter (1Q) of 2020, which was better than its expected 77%, despite weak travel demand due to unprecedented travel restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This was achieved through proactive capacity management, particularly in February and March, with the cuts most notable in AirAsia Malaysia and AirAsia Thailand,” it said in a statement today on its preliminary 1Q operating statistics.
Group-wide passenger capacity, meanwhile, was lower by about 7% year-on-year (y-o-y) at 21.42 million during the quarter.
The group consolidated airline operating companies (AOCs) – comprising the Malaysian, Indonesian and Philippine operations – recorded a steady load factor of 78%, but the number of passengers carried was down 21% y-o-y to 9.9 million as capacity was reduced by 11%.
During the quarter under review, AirAsia Malaysia cut its capacity by 17% y-o-y, as business was severely interrupted in light of the increase in Covid-19 cases in many markets and the Movement Control Order imposed in Malaysia from March 18.
Carrying 27% fewer passengers y-o-y, it achieved a reasonably strong load factor of 77%.
AirAsia Indonesia posted a 10% y-o-y rise in capacity for 1Q20 although its available seat kilometres (ASK) reduced by 4% as the company re-deployed excess capacity from international to domestic sectors.
“Passengers carried decreased by 7% as travel demand in the region started to weaken, while load factor was moderate at 74%. During the quarter, AirAsia Indonesia began flying Jakarta-Medan,” the group said.
AirAsia Philippines flew 1.8 million passengers, down 9% against the same quarter last year. Capacity slipped by 1% y-o-y as domestic routes and international routes were halted beginning mid-March, while the load factor was solid at 84%.
As for AirAsia Thailand, the capacity realignment and route rationalisation it had embarked on in 2019 continued during the quarter to match the low travel demand.
“Capacity was reduced by 17% while ASK declined by 30% as AirAsia Thailand’s network was realigned through frequency reduction and flight suspension on international routes due to increasing travel restrictions and redeployment of excess capacity to domestic sectors,” the group added.
AirAsia Thailand recorded 84% in load factor as it carried 4.5 million passengers, 23% lower than a year earlier.
Meanwhile, AirAsia India reported a 30% growth in passengers carried to 2.5 million with the 43% additional capacity contributed by 10 more aircraft y-o-y. The 49%-owned joint-venture company closed the quarter with a sizable fleet of 30 aircraft and the load factor remained steady at 81% despite rising travel concerns.
AirAsia Japan, the smallest airline under the group, expanded its capacity by 48% while ASK increased by 30% y-o-y with the addition of its latest route, Nagoya-Sendai, which was launched in the third quarter of 2019. Load factor was soft at 72% for the quarter under review as passengers carried increased at a slower rate of 32% y-o-y.
AirAsia Group said it aimed to end 2020 with 244 aircraft, a net reduction of one aircraft from 245 aircraft as at end-2019. – April 27, 2020, Bernama
