Air Asia X Bhd’s operating performance in 2Q17 trended slightly above expectations despite Quarter 2 historically being the leanest quarter.
The Company continues to stimulate demand to fill up additional capacity injected in 2Q17, by achieving a marked improvement in Passenger Load Factor (PLF) of 80%, up 5 ppts YoY, in line with the 26% YoY growth in Available Seat per Kilometers (ASK) to 8,449 million in 2Q17.
During the quarter under review, AirAsia X Malaysia added frequency to two routes: Kuala Lumpur – Shanghai and Osaka. AirAsia X Malaysia also added Honolulu to its network during the quarter under review, the airline’s maiden service to the United States of America. No new aircraft was added into AirAsia X Malaysia in 2Q17, hence, the fleet size stood at 22 A330s.
On the associates, AirAsia X Thailand recorded strong PLF of 92%, an increase of 3 ppts from 89% a year ago. AirAsia X Thailand carried 387,959 passengers in 2Q17, 26% higher against the same period last year.
No new route or frequency increased in AirAsia X Thailand’s network this quarter as Management was focused on getting their Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) reissued by the newly formed Civil Authority of Thailand (CAAT).
AirAsia X Thailand has been successfully recertified for its AOC by CAAT on 12 June 2017. No additional aircraft was added into AirAsia X Thailand during the quarter under review hence their fleet size at the end of June 2017 remained at 6 aircraft.
AirAsia X Indonesia re-launched its A330s service in May 2017 with daily flights from Denpasar to Mumbai via Kuala Lumpur, and followed by Denpasar to Narita. Denpasar – Mumbai commenced service on 19 May 2017 while Denpasar – Narita started operations on 24 May 2017.
Operations into Narita began with 4 times weekly flights and increased to 7 times weekly by the end of June 2017. AirAsia X Indonesia fleet size remained with 2 A330s, bringing AirAsia X Group (“the Group”) total fleet to 30.
