AirAsia Foresees Strong Revival for Airline Business 

AirAsia Group Berhad (“AirAsia” or “the Group”) presents the following operating statistics for the Third Quarter of the Financial Year 2021 (“3Q2021”).

AirAsia Philippines outperformed AirAsia’s other airline entities during the third quarter of 2021, reporting stronger year-on-year (“YoY”) and quarter-on-quarter (“QoQ”) performances. 

Recent positive developments for air travel across all four operating markets have contributed to a significant increase in seats sold for immediate and near-term travel, in line with our expectation of stronger bookings for spontaneous travel due to pent-up demand. These factors, coupled with the upcoming year-end holiday season, are expected to further stimulate a boost in key operating metrics in the last quarter of this year. 

AirAsia Malaysia operated 10% of capacity and carried 9% of passengers in comparison to the third quarter last year, due to strict travel restrictions in place for the most part of 3Q2021. Nonetheless, a month-on-month comparison confirms that AirAsia Malaysia more than doubled the number of passengers carried in September as compared to August, resulting in a 13 percentage point (“ppt”) higher load factor improvement, driven by the opening of the Langkawi travel bubble which commenced from 16 September. Subsequently, nationwide interstate and some limited international travel was authorised from 11 October onwards, resulting in a surge in bookings from travellers, particularly in the visiting friends and families and leisure travel markets. This upward trend is expected to continue throughout 4Q and well into 2022 as global travel restrictions continue to ease. 

Due to the temporary hibernation of the fleet in support of the containment efforts by the government, AirAsia Indonesia carried 21% of passengers with 26% of capacity operated in comparison to the same quarter last year. Since mid-October, AirAsia Indonesia has gradually started resuming flights in line with demand, commencing with the Jakarta-Bali route. AirAsia Indonesia is optimistic of a further easing of travel restrictions in the near future as the population's vaccination rate continues to increase.

AirAsia Philippines demonstrated a strong performance in 3Q2021, posting 167% growth in the number of passengers carried YoY and a 5% increase QoQ. Load factor was healthy at 77%, attributed to active capacity management. With the recent positive news announcing the uplifted travel ban for senior citizens and minors commencing last week, AirAsia Philippines is confident of a strong path to recovery, driven by strong pent up demand for leisure travel and to reconnect with relatives. Earlier this month, the government eased travel restrictions further by removing the RT-PCR test and mandatory quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated guests travelling on a number of key routes. 

AirAsia Thailand carried 4% of passengers on 5% of capacity in comparison to the same quarter last year, as flights were temporarily hibernated for the most part of 3Q2021 in accordance with the government’s containment efforts. This setback was reversed in the middle of the quarter following the government's announcement of a resumption of flights starting from 3 September, when the number of bookings increased significantly, particularly for popular leisure destinations which achieved load factors as high as 90%. With the upcoming year-end peak holiday season coupled with the reopening of the Phuket Sandbox to international travellers, AirAsia Thailand remains confident of a strong recovery in demand in 4Q2021. 

AirAsia works closely with the authorities and has implemented numerous contactless innovations and procedures to ensure the highest standards of health and safety are maintained at all times. AirAsia was recently awarded the Best Low-Cost Airline in the world for the 12th consecutive year by international airport and airline review and ranking site Skytrax. AirAsia Group is also among the top airlines worldwide to achieve the top 7/7 rating for being Covid-19 safe by the aviation experts at Airlineratings.com in 2020 and recently, has also received the COVID-19 airline excellence award from Skytrax for its outstanding efforts in ensuring the safety of guests during the pandemic.

AirAsia Group Berhad Consolidated AOCs - Malaysia, Indonesia & Philippines
3rd Quarter 2021 Operating Statistics

Malaysia
3rd Quarter 2021 Operating Statistics

Indonesia
3rd Quarter 2021 Operating Statistics

Philippines
3rd Quarter 2021 Operating Statistics

Thailand
3rd Quarter 2021 Operating Statistics

1) Number of earned seats flown. Earned seats comprise seats sold to passengers (including no-shows)
2) Number of seats flown
3) Number of Passengers Carried as a percentage of Capacity
4) Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) measures an airline’s passenger capacity. Total seats flown multiplied by the number of kilometres flown
5) Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) is a measure of the volume of passengers carried by the airline. Number of passengers multiplied by the number of kilometres these passengers have flown
6) Number of flights flown
7) Number of aircraft including spares