AAX recorded an overall improved operating performance y-o-y for 4Q17, driven by a healthy growth in its passengers. – Reuters photo
KUCHING: AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) recorded an overall improved operating performance year-on-year (y-o-y) for the fourth quarter of 2017 (4Q17), driven by a healthy growth in its passengers.
In its preliminary operating statistics, it announced that its4Q overall operating performance improved y-o-y with the number of passengers carried increased 12 per cent y-o-y at 1.55 million passengers, transcending beyond the company’s available seat per kilometres (ASK) growth of eight per cent in 4Q17 to 9,146 million as compared to the same period last year.
It added that its passenger load factor (PLF) grew two percentage points y-o-y to 83 per cent.
During the quarter, AAX Malaysia added frequencies to five routes in total, namely to Xi’an, Sapporo, Incheon, Busan, and Taipei, encouraged by year-end peak season demand.
Additionally, the company added Jeju to the network in December.
Its fleet size for AAX Malaysia remains at 22 A330s as at end of December.
On the associates, AAX Thailand reported PLF of 91 per cent, up by a whopping 13 ppts as compared to 78 per cent from the same period last year, as it recovered from the short term impact on the tourism sector due to the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the Thai government’s crackdown on zero-dollar tours from China.
For the quarter under review, AAX Thailand carried a total of 445,137 passengers, surging by 27 per cent as compared to the same quarter in 2016.
AAX Thailand increased frequencies on two routes; frequency for Incheon increased to three times daily from November 2017 onwards, while Osaka was increased to twice daily from December 2017 onwards.
No additional aircraft was added into AAX Thailand during the quarter under review as the fleet size remained at six aircraft.
In Indonesia, the operations of AirAsia X Indonesia was temporarily hampered in 4Q17, due to the volcanic activity of Mt Agung in Bali which started end of September and through to December.
AAX Indonesia carried a total of 113,792 passengers for the quarter while passenger load factor stood at 69 per cent. AirAsia X Indonesia fleet size remained with two A330s, hence bringing the total fleet of AirAsia X Group to 30 as at end of December 2017.