LONDON – AirAsia X has announced its operating statistics for the Sixth Quarter of 2022 and the 18-month Full Financial Year ended 31 December 2022.
The figures show a significant increase in passengers carried, reported at 337,638 in Q6 2022, compared to the previous quarter, stated as 79,557.
The increase is shown as a 324% increase in passengers, quarter-on-quarter, with other statistics similarly positive for the Malaysia-based long-haul budget airline.
The carrier also reported a 292% increase in capacity versus previous quarter but also showed an increase in 6% on load factor also.
The airline stated it had focused on popular and profitable routes to ensure success in Q6 2022. Pre-pandemic load factor for the same quarter in 2019 was reported as 81%.
With a huge increase in flights flown at almost 300%, the carrier has focused on key commercially successful routes.
The airline re-launched routes to destinations in Australia (Melbourne, Perth), Japan (Tokyo-Haneda, Sapporo), Taiwan (Taipei), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah) and Indonesia (Bali-Denpasar), all from its hub and home airport of Kuala Lumpur.
It also added a new route from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, connecting to its existing route between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.
Due to increased demand, the operator also increased frequencies on some target routes: Seoul (South Korea), Sydney, Sydney-Auckland, Melbourne, Perth and Sapporo.
AirAsia X was also operating daily flights to Seoul, Sydney, Sydney-Auckland, Melbourne and Bali-Denpasar by the end of December 2022.
Having re-introduced four aircraft into operation, AirAsia X’s increase in capacity has been an increase that has met the recent market demands.
The positive results are being attributed by the airline to a reported gain in momentum in travel recovery in the region, and routes operated by AirAsia X, together with the peak travel season of the quarter.
Similarly positive results were also announced by AirAsia X’s sister company, AirAsia Thailand. It carried a reported total of 212,523 passengers in Q6 2022 with a load factor of 92%.
During the period, AirAsia Thailand also launched flights to Japan (Osaka, Sapporo) and Australia (Sydney, Melbourne).
For full year results, AirAsia X carried a total of 417,195 passengers with a full year load factor of 78%. AirAsia Thailand announced a full year load factor of 88%, with total passengers carried reported at 279,707.
AirAsia Thailand’s strong load factor results show the speed of travel restrictions easing between different nations in the region.
Summary
Going into 2023, AirAsia X was operating flights to 13 destinations and announced it was “poised to accelerate its recovery to pre-Covid levels” with the easing of restrictions to destinations in China
. On 20 January 2023, the parent company announced it had achieved 100% load factor on its “special extra flights at fixed low fares” for the Chinese New Year period.
AirAsia Malaysia CEO, Riad Asmat, stated: “People are always at the heart of everything we do and it is truly our mission to enable affordable connectivity for our guests, especially during this special time when many are yearning to ‘balik kampung’ in time for reunions.”
“Moments like these are the reason why we strive so hard to make the travel dreams of many a possibility. “
“Whilst we are constrained by the challenges faced by many other airlines in the aviation industry as we emerge from the pandemic, AirAsia is nonetheless committed to ensuring that we continue to provide quality guest experience at affordable fares.”
