KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — AirAsia X Bhd has posted a passenger load factor of 74 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1), down by nine percentage points (ppt) year-on-year.
In a statement today, the long-haul budget airline said the number of passengers carried declined by 25 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to 1.142 million passengers during the quarter, while the company's available seats per kilometre (ASK) capacity reduced by 21 per cent y-o-y to 6,874 million.
"The significant drop in available capacity and passengers carried is a result of the severe impact of Covid-19 which has affected travel demand globally.
"As part of the airline’s mitigation strategy, it has reduced flight frequency around the network and temporarily suspended certain routes," it said.
In February 2020, during the onset of the Covid-19, AirAsia X Malaysia implemented capacity management to reduce flight frequency to China as travel restrictions tightened and demand softened.
In the following month, capacity management had been executed in almost 90 per cent of the company’s network, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and India.
A total of four routes were terminated in March, namely Tianjin, Wuhan, Lanzhou and Jaipur.
AirAsia X said by proactively managing the adverse effects of the pandemic and to contain operational costs, it has announced the temporary hibernation of its entire fleet and suspended all scheduled operations for a period of two months effective March 28.
The fleet size of AirAsia X Malaysia remains at 24 A330s as of the end of March 2020.
Meanwhile, AirAsia X Thailand charted a passenger load factor of 77 per cent during the quarter under review, a decline of 13 ppts compared to the same period last year, while ASK capacity decreased by 22 per cent y-o-y to 2,645 million and the number of passengers carried was recorded at 474,150 passengers.
"Following the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent travel restrictions in almost all regions, AirAsia X Thailand announced the suspension of all scheduled operations for a period of three months effective March 16.
"AirAsia X Thailand’s fleet size remained at 14 A330s during the quarter, bringing the total for the AirAsia X Group’s fleet size to 40 A330s as of the end of Q1 2020, including two aircraft with AirAsia X Indonesia, which remain in suspension," it added.
— Bernama
