[ad_1]
KUALA LUMPUR: The total number of passengers carried by AirAsia Group Bhd decreased by 85% to 1.91 million during the third quarter of 2020 from 13 million in the same quarter last year.
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the group’s load factor decreased to 66%, the airline group said in its quarterly report to the stock exchange.
On a monthly basis, the low-cost carrier said its key operating metrics improved in September compared to July with higher number of passengers carried recorded at its operations in Malaysia, India and Thailand, increasing by 36%, 79% and 65% Respectively.
He said the load factor for the group increased 7.0 percentage points in September compared to July.
“These improvements highlight a strong upward recovery trend in air travel demand in key markets for the group,” he said.
AirAsia Malaysia operated at 52% of its domestic capacity in September, compared to 40% in July, as travel demand has been on an upward trajectory since the second quarter, with the easing of restrictions on interstate travel.
AirAsia Malaysia achieved a load factor of 68%, while carrying about 1.8 million passengers during the quarter.
While capacity was reduced in October given the government’s conditional motion control order, AirAsia Malaysia is striving to regain up to 60% of its national pre-Covid capacity by the fourth quarter.
AirAsia Indonesia’s load factor declined 36 percentage points to 49% in 3Q20, while AirAsia Philippines operated at just five percent of last year’s capacity in the revised quarter.
