AAX passengers soar on border reopening
KUALA LUMPUR: Airasia X Bhd’s (AAX) number of passengers carried during the October-to-december quarter rose 324% to 337,638 compared with 79,557 passengers in the preceding quarter.
In a statement, the long-haul budget carrier said seat capacity and available seats per kilometre (ASK) capacity stood at 427,384 and 1,700 million, respectively.
During the period under review, AAX posted a passenger load factor (PLF) of 79%, up six percentage points from 73% in the July-toseptember quarter.
AAX said the PLF for the recent quarter was close to PLF levels recorded pre-pandemic – 81% for October-december 2019. AAX last year changed its financial year end to Dec 31, 2022.
For the 18 months ended Dec 31, 2022, AAX carried 417,195 passengers with a total of 536,491 seat capacity, while ASK capacity stood at 2,072 million. PLF during the year stood at 78%.
“By the end of December 2022, Airasia X was operating flights to 13 destinations including Seoul and Delhi, two of its most popular destinations that were launched in the prior quarter.
“With the reopening of China borders, Airasia X is well poised to accelerate its recovery to pre-covid levels,” it said in a statement.
Its associate Airasia X Thailand carried a total of 212,523 passengers during the quarter with a strong PLF of 92%.
Seat capacity and ASK capacity charted at 230,961 and 1,031 million, respectively, as more aircraft were returned to service during the quarter, with additional frequencies set in motion to selected routes so as to cater to the year-end peak travel season.
Between January and December 2022, Airasia X Thailand carried a total of 279,707 passengers and seat capacity were recorded at 318,132, while ASK capacity stood at 1,383 million. It recorded a healthy PLF of 88%.
The total fleet size for AAX stood at 14 A330s as at the end of December 2022, with seven aircraft activated and operational, while Airasia X Thailand’s total fleet size was eight A330s with five aircraft activated and operational.