KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 24): AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) achieved a passenger load factor of 80% for the third quarter of 2023 (3Q2023), up 7% year-on-year (y-o-y) while seat capacity surged over nine times, hitting 1.01 million seats flown.

The performance was attributed to a 10 times y-o-y increase in the number of passengers with over 807,000 passengers carried in 3Q2023 compared to nearly 80,500 passengers in the same period last year, the medium-haul low-cost carrier said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Available seats per kilometre (ASK) surged close to 12 times higher y-o-y at 4,412 million, bolstered by the increase in seat capacity and the continued recovery of the company’s network,” it added.  

On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, AAX’s seat capacity grew by 24%, while ASK capacity rose by 26% as the number of serviceable aircraft increased by three aircraft q-o-q in 3Q2023.

During 3Q, AAX Malaysia launched its second route to India with flights to Amritsar (four times weekly) and its fourth route in China with flights to Chengdu (three times weekly), reinforcing its commitment to return to core markets first which it served before the pandemic.

It also noted that flight frequency soared to 114 flights per week by the end of 3Q2023 compared with 23 flights during the end of the same period last year. Meanwhile, on q-o-q basis, its flight frequency was up 19%, with Shanghai and Perth ramping up frequencies to daily flights.

The group’s associate, AirAsia X Thailand carried a total of 342,078 passengers, with a healthy PLF of 82% for the quarter under review. Its ASK capacity grew by six times higher y-o-y at 1,797 million while seat capacity jumped five times higher y-o-y at 416,053 seats.

In terms of network, AirAsia X Thailand's overall flight frequency grew by 15% q-o-q with frequency on the Shanghai route increasing to six times weekly during the quarter.  

As at end-Sept 2023, AAX's total fleet size remained as 17 A330s, with 14 aircraft now activated and operational, while AirAsia X Thailand's total fleet size stood at eight A330s, with six aircraft activated and operational.

AAX, which suffered a setback last Thursday when it failed to be uplifted from Practice Note 17 (PN17) status, enjoyed a share price rebound on Tuesday.

Its stock closed one sen or 0.55% higher to RM1.84, which translates to a market capitalisation of RM823 million.  

Nonetheless, the stock has fallen 25% so far in the month of October.