KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 27 — AirAsia Group Bhd’s total passengers dropped by 85 per cent to 1.91 million during the third quarter of 2020 (3Q20) from 13 million in the same quarter last year.
Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, the load factor for the group decreased by 18 percentage points (ppts) year-on-year to 66 per cent, the airline group said in a statement yesterday.
On a monthly basis, the low-cost carrier said its key operational metrics improved in September compared to July with higher passengers recorded in its operations in Malaysia, India and Thailand, which increased by 36 per cent, 79 per cent and 65 per cent respectively.
It said the load factor for the group increased 7.0 ppts in September compared to July.
“These improvements highlight a strong upward rebound trend for air travel demand across key markets for the group,” it said.
AirAsia Malaysia operated at 52 per cent of its domestic capacity in September, in comparison to 40 per cent in July as travel demand has been on an upward trajectory since the second quarter, with the easing of restrictions on interstate travel.
AirAsia Malaysia achieved a 68 per cent load factor, while carrying close to 1.8 million passengers during the quarter.
While capacity has been reduced in October given the conditional movement control order by the government, AirAsia Malaysia is striving to recover to 60 per cent of its pre-Covid domestic capacity by the fourth quarter.
AirAsia Indonesia’s load factor was down by 36 ppts to 49 per cent in 3Q20 while AirAsia Philippines operated at only five per cent of last year’s capacity in the reviewed quarter.
— Bernama
