KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X Bhd
's operating performance improved on year with a 12% increase in the number of passengers carried to 1.55 million.
Announcing its preliminary operating statics, the carrier said the improvement came in tandem with a 8% growth in available seat per kilometres (ASK) to 9.15 billion and a two percentage points increase in passenger load factor to 83%.
"During the quarter, AirAsia X Malaysia added frequencies to five routes in total, namely to Xi’an, Sapporo, Incheon, Busan, and Taipei, encouraged by year-end peak season demand.
"Additionally, the Company added Jeju to the network in December, which is also the latest unique route for the Company. The fleet size for AirAsia X Malaysia remains at 22 A330s as at end of December," it said.
For the full year, the carrier carried 5.84 million passengers, a 25% increase over the previous year. Its load factor was up thee percentage points to 82% while ASK rose 19% to 35.05 million.
Associate company AirAsia X Thailand reported a 13 percentage point increase in passenger load factor to 91% as it recovered from the impact to the tourism sector following the passing of King Bumibol Aduljadej and the government crackdown on zero-dollar tours from China.
The Thai carrier also reported a 27% increase in passengers to 445,137 compared to the previous corresponding quarter.
Indonesian operations, however, was hampered by volcanic activity in Bali in the fourth quarter. AirAsia X Indonesia carried 113.792 passengers in the quarter while passeger load factor stood at 69%.
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