KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 12): Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA) said its aviation arm AirAsia Aviation Group carried 16.27 million passengers in the fourth quarter of last year (4Q2024), up 9% compared with 14.88 million passengers a year earlier, amid increased seat capacity and robust demand for air travel.

The low-cost carrier, emerging from the challenges of Covid-19, recovered 84% of pre-pandemic capacity levels during the quarter, said Capital A in a statement.

The airline maintained an 88% load factor as demand caught up with the 10% year-on-year growth in capacity to 18.56 million.

For the full year, AirAsia carried over 63 million passengers with a load factor of 89%, said Capital A.
 
The passenger growth surpassed capacity growth by one percentage point, reinforcing its ability to meet market needs, the group said.

AirAsia's seat capacity grew 10% to 70.83 million in 2024, compared with 64.4 million in 2023, while the number of passengers it carried rose 11% to 63.18 million from 56.99 million passengers in 2023.

Capital A said the airline's fleet expansion contributed significantly to its success in 2024, with its active fleet growing to 205 aircraft out of a total of 224, helped by the reactivation of 14 aircraft during the year.

AirAsia inducted 10 aircraft, comprising nine new A321neo and one used A320, during the year while returning two aircraft to lessors, improving operational efficiency and capacity to support growing demand across its network, said Capital A.

As of to-date, AirAsia has 16 non-active aircraft, with nine expected to enter service in the first quarter of 2025 and the remaining seven in the second quarter of 2025.

“With these aircraft now entering service, AirAsia will be able to fully utilise its fleet, reflecting its true capability of the airline and unlocking the potential for maximised revenue generation that was previously unattainable due to idle aircraft,” said Capital A.

Meanwhile, Capital A said its engineering and maintenance subsidiary, Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), completed 22 base maintenance checks, a 10% y-o-y increase, bringing the total number of checks for the year to 63.

ADE also completed 3,066 line maintenance checks in 4Q2024, representing an 8% increase from 2,840 line maintenance checks in 4Q2023. This contributed to a full-year total of over 12,700 line checks, a 17% increase in 2023.

The growth was driven by increased flight activity and further supported by ADE's expansion into new markets in Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia during the year, said Capital A.

The group's logistics arm Teleport achieved its highest quarterly cargo volume since inception at 85,950 tonnes in 4QFY2024, a 33% y-o-y increase from 64,738 tonnes, driven by improved service levels and growing demand. For the full year, total cargo volume reached 295,926 tonnes, surging 44.5% from 204,788 tonnes in 2023.

Capital A's AirAsia MOVE, formerly known as airasia Superappp, reported a 16% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) inctrease in monthly active users to 15,216 users in 4Q2024, while the number of transactions was up by 10% q-o-q to 3.78 million, driven by continuous improvements of the platform.

Gross booking value stood at RM2.65 billion in 4Q2024.

The y-o-y comparison was not available for AirAsia MOVE due to changes in the business model during the year, said Capital A.

The group's fintech arm BigPay saw user growth with its card base expanding to over 1.6 million fuelled by Bigpay Lite and enhancements in remittance services, which now enable direct e-wallet transfers across various countries, providing users with more end-point recipient options.

As for the group’s inflight service provider, Santan, it recorded a 53% y-o-y surge in unit sales and served over 19.7 million meals in FY2024, driven by strategic third-party partnerships and a more affordable menu.

Capital A shares closed down half a sen or 0.59% to 84 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM3.64 billion. Over the past one year, the stock has risen 19%