AirAsia Reports Q1 2013 Operating Statistics

In Q1 2013, the AirAsia Group’s total number of passengers increased by 19% to approximately 9.8 million which is in line with 21% increase in capacity.

Year-on-year, the group took in 22 additional aircraft, which brings its total fleet at the end of March 2013 to 122 aircraft.

Malaysia AirAsia’s (MAA) load factor remained resilient at 79% in Q1 2013, despite taking on 2 additional aircraft this quarter. This brought up the total number of aircraft operated by MAA at the end of the period to 66, an additional 9 aircraft as compared to the same period last year.

MAA took advantage of the strong season in January and February, but March was slower contributed to the slight impact of the Lahad Datu incident in Sabah and the termination of Kuala Lumpur – Colombo route in February.

Total passengers carried were approximately 5.2 million, a strong 7% increase year-on-year. Capacity increased by 9% year-on-year to cater to the additional frequencies especially in the domestic front and few Indonesian routes.

Thai AirAsia (TAA) again recorded a commendable load factor of 87% in Q1 2013. Approximately 2.6 million passengers were carried, which was a 20% increase as compared to the same period last year, and in line with the increase in capacity.

The increase was due to the increase in frequencies in domestic destinations such as Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Krabi and Nakhon Si Thammarat to support the increasing travel demand during this high season.

This quarter, TAA added 1 additional aircraft which brings its total number of aircraft up to 28.

Indonesia AirAsia’s (IAA) posted a high load factor 75% in Q1 2013, mainly due to the new capacity that was added, which was up 40% from the first quarter last year.

The additional capacity is due to the introduction of 5 new routes which were Makassar - Manado, Makassar - Surabaya, Makassar – Denpasar, Makassar - Kuala Lumpur, and Semarang - Singapore.

Total passengers carried grew 35% to approximately 1.7 million due to the new routes that were introduced during the period. At the end of March, IAA has a total fleet of 22 aircraft.

Philippines’ AirAsia (PAA) recorded a load factor of 76% despite only starting its operations in March last year.

Total passengers carried were around 0.144 million in this quarter, and at the end of the period, PAA has a total of 2 aircraft in operation.

AirAsia Japan’s (AAJ) load factor was 70% this quarter and it carried a total number of approximately 0.182 million passengers.

AAJ just recently introduced its second hub in Nagoya, and introduced one new route this quarter which is Nagoya - Fukuoka.

The total fleet since it started operating in August 2012 is 4 aircraft.

It should be noted that for this quarter, it is the first time that the group is disclosing and incorporating PAA’s and AAJ’s operating figures into the overall numbers.