Strong international rebound lifts AirAsia Aviation Q3 traffic

AirAsia Aviation carriers reported a significant uplift in passenger traffic for Q3 of the year, led mainly by a rebound in international travel demand. In the three months to 30 September – the first full quarter since regional travel markets fully reopened – AirAsia units in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines carried close to 10 million passengers, a considerable increase compared to the over 430,000 passengers flown in the same quarter last year. Parent company Capital A adds that the figure is a 36% quarter-on-quarter increase, and stands at about 54% pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, total capacity stood at about 44% pre-pandemic levels, notes Capital A in a 26 October statement. AirAsia Malaysia carried 4.8m passengers in the quarter, a significant increase against 2021’s lower base of just 156,000 passengers. Compared to the second quarter of the year, the figure is a 25% rise. The Kuala Lumpur-based carrier also ramped up capacity, with ASKs increasing about 28% quarter on quarter. It has seen healthy load factors across its domestic and international networks – averaging around 86% — with the airline reporting a 95% load factor during the quarter for its Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route. AirAsia’s Indonesian unit carried over 1m passengers, about 49% higher quarter on quarter. This also compares to the 15,000 passengers carried in the same period last year, when Indonesia was still under strict movement control. <br/>