KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — AirAsia X Bhd announced that its total number of passengers carried increased by close to 50 per cent to 504,476 in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1 2023), as compared with 337,638 passengers in the fourth quarter of 2022, driven by New Year holidays and spring season travel demand.
In a statement today, AirAsia X said the impressive performance was on the back of increased seat capacity which grew by 47 per cent quarter on quarter (q-o-q) to 630,069 seats, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) surged by 71 per cent to 2,899 million.
“This quarter, an extensive focus continued for fleet reactivation supporting the ramp-up of flight frequencies across AirAsia X’s core network.
“AirAsia X relaunched more destinations catering to strong demand, now serving scheduled flights to Osaka, Busan and Shanghai, besides increasing its services to fly seven times weekly to Tokyo,” the airline said.
Across its network, Delhi and Tokyo posted the strongest passenger load factor (PLF) of close to 90 per cent, while overall PLF was strong at 80 per cent, up from 79 per cent in the preceding quarter.
Furthermore, the company is highly encouraged by the reopening of China for all travellers since early March 2023.
The airline said it expects to launch more flights to the country as well as increase frequency on the most popular and profitable historical routes, besides deliberating the addition of more destinations and countries within its network in the short to medium term.
Meanwhile, AirAsia X Thailand carried a total of 289,813 passengers in Q1 2023 with a strong PLF of 88 per cent.
Seat capacity during the quarter under review increased by 33 per cent q-o-q to 329,913 seats while ASK rose by 40 per cent to 1,601 million on the back of increased scheduled flights and frequencies across its network.
During the quarter, AirAsia X Thailand maintained the number of destinations within its network and announced the recommencement of its Bangkok-Shanghai route, effective April 2023, subsequent to the reopening of China’s border.
AirAsia X’s total fleet size remained at 14 A330s as of the end of March 2023, with nine aircraft activated and operational.
AirAsia X Thailand’s total fleet size stood at eight A330s, with five aircraft activated and operational. — Bernama
