KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group Bhd’s consolidated air operator’s certificate (AOC) reported a 9% YoY growth in total passengers carried to 13.17 million in the fourth quarter (4Q) ended Dec 31, 2019.
Capacity expanded by 11% YoY, driven by large increases in Indonesia and the Philippines. However, the load factor dipped slightly by two percentage points to 82% due to the higher capacity.
In a statement today, the group said AirAsia Malaysia added 4% more capacity and carried 2% more passengers YoY, with a softer load factor of 82% due to a change in pricing strategy.
It said AirAsia Indonesia’s capacity increased 32% compared with 4Q 2018 while AirAsia Philippines posted a robust capacity growth of 27% YoY following the introduction of a new route.
AirAsia Japan’s capacity expanded by 94% while available seat kilometres (ASK) rose by 74% following the launch of its third route, Nagoya-Sendai, in the third quarter last year.
Meanwhile, AirAsia India reported a remarkable growth as total passengers carried rose by 39% YoY on the back of a 38% expansion in capacity.
However, AirAsia Thailand’s capacity declined 2% YoY as it continued to focus on capacity realignment and route rationalisation to enhance efficiency and better match demand, the group said.
For the whole of 2019, AirAsia’s six AOCs saw notable growth, carrying 12% more passengers YoY to reach 83.5 million passengers.
Capacity expansion rose 11% in 2019 on the back of taking 19 more aircraft, ending the year with a fleet size of 243 aircraft.
AirAsia Group achieved its target load factor of 85% for the six AOCs, the statement added. – Jan 29, 2020, Bernama
