PETALING JAYA: AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) carried 1.14 million passengers in the first quarter (1Q20), a decline of 25% year-on-year (y-o-y) due to the severe impact of Covid-19 which has affected travel demand globally.
It posted a passenger load factor (PLF) of 74% in 1Q20, down by 9 percentage points (ppt) y-o-y. During the quarter, the company’s available seats per kilometre (ASK) capacity reduced by 21% y-o-y to 6.87 billion.
As part of the airline’s mitigation strategy, AAX reduced flight frequency around the network and temporarily suspended certain routes.
In February 2020, during the onset of the Covid-19, AAX Malaysia implemented capacity management to reduce flight frequency to China as travel restrictions tightened and demand softened.
In the following month, capacity management had been executed in almost 90% of the company’s network, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and India. Four routes were terminated in March, namely Tianjin, Wuhan, Lanzhou and Jaipur.
“By proactively managing the adverse effects of the pandemic and to contain operational costs, AAX Malaysia temporary hibernated its entire fleet and suspended all scheduled operations for two months effective March 28, 2020. The fleet size of AAX Malaysia remains at 24 A330s as at the end of March 2020,“ AAX said when announcing its operating statistics for 1Q20 today.
During the quarter, AAX Thailand carried 474,150 passengers and charted a PLF of 77%, a decline of 13 ppts compared to the same period last year. ASK capacity decreased by 22% y-o-y to 2.65 billion in 1Q20. Following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent travel restrictions in almost all regions, AAX Thailand suspended all scheduled operations for three months effective March 16, 2020.
AAX Thailand’s fleet size remained at 14 A330s during the quarter. This brings the total for the AAX group’s fleet size to 40 A330s as at the end of 1Q20, including two aircraft with AAX Indonesia, which remain in suspension.
