AirAsia X Flies 4.69 Million Passengers In 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) flew 4.69 million passengers in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY16), up 30 per cent from 3.61 million in FY15. In its preliminary operating statistics released Wednesday, the long-haul budget airline said capacity rose 22 per cent to 5.94 million versus 4.85 million previously. On a quarterly basis, it said the fourth quarter 2016's (4Q16) overall operating performance improved year-on-year (y-o-y), resulting from the successful turnaround initiatives implemented during the year. "In 4Q16, the company recorded a high double-digit increase in passengers carried of 40 per cent y-o-y to 1.38 million, in-line with capacity growth of 43 per cent y-o-y. "The huge capacity injected during the quarter was to cater to demand rising from year-end holiday travel," it said. Meanwhile, the airline passenger load factor (PLF) dropped two percentage points to 81 per cent against 83 per cent for the same period last year, as the available seat per kilometers grew 44 per cent y-o-y to 8,474 million in 4Q16. Malaysia AirAsia X (MAAX) added Mauritius to its network during the quarter under review. No new aircraft was added into MAAX in 4Q16, hence, the fleet size at end-December stood at 22 Airbus A330s. On the associates, Thai AirAsia X registered a PLF of 78 per cent in 4Q16, while, Indonesia AirAsia X A330s service is still temporarily suspended as part of a network restructuring. Moving forward into 2017, AirAsia X said it remains cautious in anticipating a challenging environment. However, the management remains confident of ensuring sustainable growth. --BERNAMA