BANGKOK, 14 May 2024 -  Asia Aviation PLC (AAV), the sole shareholder of Thai Airasia Co. Ltd. (TAA), has announced its operational results for the first quarter of 2024, reporting revenues from sales and services of 13,793.7 THB, an increase of 52 percent year-on-year, and continued positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 3,094.2 THB, up 78 percent from the same period last year. 

While the Company booked a net loss of (409.1) THB due to the depreciation of the Thai Baht that led to a foreign exchange loss of (2,049.4) THB, cashflow was not impacted and had remained positive. Excluding the foreign exchange loss, AAV achieved a core profit of (1,640.3) THB in the first quarter, turning around a loss of (203.2) THB during the same period last year.

In 1Q2024, TAA transported 5.5 million passengers, up 19 percent year-on-year, by operating 50 of its fleet of 56 aircraft. New routes introduced in the quarter included Hat Yai-Singapore and Don Mueang-Kaohsiung. Seat capacity recovered during the period to 90 percent while passengers carried recovered to 93 percent of the total seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Santisuk Klongchaiya, CEO of Asia Aviation PCL and Thai AirAsia Co. Ltd., stated “Passenger volumes continued to grow from 4Q2023 with the Load Factor reaching a record high of 93 percent this quarter. Our domestic market share by the end of March 2024 was also a record high at 40 percent in an affirmation of our brand’s leadership. We supplemented our inherent strengths including having a larger fleet than our competitors and our on-time performance, with targeted marketing efforts aimed at different customer groups that resulted in a higher and wider brand awareness of Thai AirAsia in the market.

“We have seen exceptional growth in our international operations during the quarter. We benefitted notably from the lifting of visa requirements between Thailand and China in March that resulted in a surge in both incoming and outgoing travellers between both countries, while we continued to see strong responses in India, ASEAN, Taiwan and Japan. During the quarter, TAA launched Don Mueang-Beijing, as well as Fifth Freedom routes Don Mueang-Taipei-Okinawa and Don Mueang-Kaohsiung-Tokyo (Narita), which will begin operation in Quarter 2. These provide opportunities for us to connect with new high-potential customer groups in the wider region,” Mr. Sanitsuk said.

At the same time, TAA continued working closely with public and private agencies to further attract tourists to Thailand, including through campaigns such as the AirAsia Boarding Pass Privileges, which added value for visitors to Thailand by allowing international tourists to enjoy discounts on dining, products and services from 18 of the carrier’s partners just by presenting an AirAsia boarding pass.

For 2Q2024, TAA plans to stimulate domestic and international travel while evaluating frequency increases for the most popular routes to China in Quarter 3. With the government negotiating for a larger quota for tourists from India, positive news is expected for the aviation industry soon and the airline is looking forward to further seat allocations for this market from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.

For all of 2024, TAA is maintaining a passenger target of 20-21 million guests with a Load Factor average of 90 percent. This would translate to a 20-23 percent growth of revenues from sales and services compared to last year as the Company looks to expand its fleet to 60 operating aircraft by year’s end.