Thai AirAsia expects full domestic rebound in Q4

Thai AirAsia is eyeing a full rebound of domestic capacity in Q4 after seeing early signs of improvement. Santisuk Klongchaiya, CE of TAA, said the load factor in September was 87% from 75% available capacity, as airlines have to follow social distancing measures, which was cited as the reason why tickets were 20-30% more expensive per seat. The airline has resumed more domestic routes such as Krabi, Surat Thani, Phitsanulok and Sakon Nakhon in October, which tally 20 routes. Average frequency was 30 flights per day, or 25% of domestic capacity, as the airline is flying 10 planes from an aircraft fleet of 60. Santisuk said flight frequency and aircraft utilisation will double each month, while load factor in the last quarter should increase to 80%. "The airline used 30 aircraft for full domestic capacity last November and December thanks to the boom in domestic tourism," Santisuk said. "We are hopeful that domestic capacity could reach its peak in December and next January."<br/>