SEPANG, 30 January 2023: AirAsia X Berhad (AirAsia X) released its latest operating statistics at the weekend, covering the sixth quarter of 2022 (6Q22) and the 18-month full financial year ending 31 December 2022.
In 6Q22, passengers carried stood at 337,638, demonstrating an over quadruple boost compared to the preceding quarter in which 79,557 passengers were carried between July – September 2022 as the travel recovery gained momentum in tandem with the peak travel season.
Seat capacity and Available Seats per Kilometre (ASK) capacity stood at 427,384 and 1,700 million, respectively, as more aircraft were returned to service with a dedicated focus on flying the most popular and profitable routes first as a priority post-pandemic.
During the period under review, the company posted a healthy Passenger Load Factor (PLF) of 79%, up by six percentage points from 73% in 5Q22. The PLF this quarter is already close to emulating the PLF recorded pre-pandemic between October – December 2019, which stood at 81%.
During the quarter under review, AirAsia X launched flights to Melbourne, Perth, Tokyo-Haneda, Sapporo, Taipei, Jeddah and Bali-Denpasar, on top of introducing an all-new Sydney-Auckland route. On the back of significant pent-up demand for great value medium haul travel since the inauguration and following the pandemic, additional frequencies have been incorporated into several top-tier routes, namely Seoul, Sydney, Sydney-Auckland, Melbourne, Perth and Sapporo, particularly between November – December 2022. As of the end of December 2022, AirAsia X served daily flights to key markets, including Seoul, Sydney, Sydney-Auckland, Melbourne and Bali-Denpasar.
On a full financial year basis, AirAsia X carried 417,195 passengers with a total of 536,491 seat capacity, while ASK capacity stood at 2,072 million. PLF during the year stood at 78%. By the end of December 2022, AirAsia X was operating flights to 13 destinations, including Seoul and Delhi, two of its most popular destinations that were launched in the prior quarter.
Associate AirAsia X Thailand carried 212,523 passengers in 6Q22 with a strong PLF of 92%, reflective of the business recovery trajectory within the country. Seat capacity and ASK capacity charted at 230,961 and 1,031 million, respectively, as more aircraft were returned to service during the quarter, with additional frequencies set in motion to select routes to cater to the year-end peak travel season. During the period under review, AirAsia X Thailand launched flights to Osaka and Sapporo in Japan and Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.
Between January and December 2022, AirAsia X Thailand carried a 279,707 passengers, and seat capacity was recorded at 318,132, while ASK capacity stood at 1,383 million. Overall, AirAsia X Thailand recorded a healthy PLF of 88% during this period as it began relaunching flights in June 2022, beginning with Seoul, followed by Tokyo Narita, followed by Osaka, Sapporo, Sydney and Melbourne.
The total fleet size for AirAsia X stood at 14 A330s as of the end of December 2022, with seven aircraft activated and operational, while AirAsia X Thailand’s total fleet size was eight A330s as at the end of December 2022, with five aircraft activated and operational.
(1) Number of earned seats flown. Earned seats comprise seats sold to passengers (including no-shows) and seats provided for promotional purposes.
(2) Number of seats flown.
(3) Passengers Carried / Capacity.
(4) Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) measures an airline’s passenger capacity. Total seats flown multiplied by the number of kilometres flow.(5) Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) measures the volume of passengers carried by an airline. The number of passengers multiplied by the number of kilometres these passengers have flown.
(6) Number of flights flown, *excluding charter and cargo flights.
(7) Fleet for AirAsia X Malaysia.