AirAsia X said the company posted a solid Passenger Load Factor (“PLF”) of 83% in the first quarter of the year, an increase of three percentage points year-on-year (“YoY”), reflecting that passenger demand is robust, even as the company ramped up its Available Seat per Kilometre (“ASK”) metric by 74% YoY to 5,039 million, with the addition of more flights to its expanding network. Surpassing the growth in ASK Capacity, AirAsia X recorded an increase of 90% YoY to 959,623 passengers as it catered to meet increased travel demand arising from peak travel periods including key festive seasons and school holidays.
In terms of network, AirAsia X Malaysia launched its maiden flight to Almaty, Kazakhstan in March 2024 in its quest to enter Central Asia, starting with four times weekly flights. In addition, the Company also increased the frequencies to popular routes in China such as Chengdu (7 times per week), Beijing (7 times per week), and Shanghai (11 times per week), on top of ramping up flight frequency to Bali in Indonesia (9 times per week). This effectively contributed to the 85% YoY increase in the company’s number of stages to 3,184 during the quarter under review.
AirAsia X Thailand recorded a strong PLF of 89%, marginally up by 1 percentage point driven by a 51% growth YoY in the number of passengers carried to 437,764 during the quarter under review. In line with the reactivation of one aircraft into its operational fleet in 1Q24, AirAsia X Thailand reported an increase of 50% YoY in the number of sectors flown to 1,329, while its ASK Capacity grew by over 37% YoY to 2,199 million during the quarter.
AirAsia X’s total fleet size remained at 18 A330s as of the end of March 2024, with 16 aircraft now activated and operational. AirAsia X Thailand’s fleet size on the other hand stood at seven A330s, with six aircraft activated and operational.
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