BERNAMA – AirAsia X Bhd’s (AAX) net profit fell slipped to MYR80.11 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1Q 2024) from MYR327.99 million in the same quarter last year.
Revenue however increased by 66 per cent to MYR908.91 million against MYR548.84 million previously, primarily generated from more ticket sales and ancillary revenue, said the low-cost airline in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
In a separate statement, AAX said it posted a solid passenger load factor (PLF) of 83 per cent, up three percentage points year-on-year (y-o-y), with best-performing routes in China, India and Japan recording over 90 per cent PLF. Available seat kilometres increased by 74 per cent y-o-y in line with solid market demand.
On network, driven by the commitment to accelerate and regain market leadership and following the extension of the visa-exemption policy to China until 2025, the low-cost airline increased flight frequencies to its popular routes in the country, namely Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai, on top of ramping up flight frequency to leisure favourite Bali in Indonesia.
“Overall, AAX delivered an 85 per cent y-o-y increase in the number of stages to 3,184, with total weekly flights at 135 flights per week on average in 1Q 2024.
“The group’s total fleet size remained at 18 A330s as of end-March 2024, with 16 aircraft now activated and operational, while AAX Thailand’s fleet size stood at seven A330s, with an additional aircraft reactivated during the quarter, bringing its fleet of activated and operational aircraft to six,” it added.
AAX Chief Executive Officer Benyamin Ismail said the airline expects two remaining aircraft to rejoin the operational fleet in July and November this year, while the group work towards ensuring its fleet requirements for further growth in the future are secured.
