Capital A’s aviation segment records 90% load factor, 15.4 mln passenger volume in 1Q

KUALA LUMPUR: Capital A Bhd today said the AirAsia Aviation Group (AAG), comprising AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia, and AirAsia Philippines, delivered improved performance across key metrics, with a system-wide record quarterly load factor of 90 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024), reflecting one percentage point (ppt) improvement year-on-year (y-o-y).

In a statement today, it said the robust performance aligned with AirAsia’s strategic focus on expanding capacity and rebuilding its network.

“Passenger volume grew 17 per cent y-o-y to 15.4 million, outpacing capacity growth of 15 per cent y-o-y, demonstrating continued strong travel demand across the region,” the carrier group said.

It noted that the growth was largely attributed to the school holidays, Chinese New Year season as well as the resurgence of China and India routes that delivered a robust load factor of 94 per cent, higher than the pre-COVID level due to the visa-free travel corridors of both regions introduced at the end of 2023.

As of the end of March this year, the airline group deployed 167 operational aircraft.

“AirAsia Philippines and Thailand emerged as the group’s top performers, with highest load factors at 93 per cent each, while AirAsia Malaysia and Indonesia followed closely with load factors of 89 per cent and 83 per cent, respectively,” it said.

Capital A still owns an 18.39 per cent stake in AAG.

Meanwhile, Capital A’s AirAsia Move, formerly known as airasia Superapp, has maintained a strong user base that exceeded 15 million monthly active users (MAU) in 1Q 2024 and recorded a 19 per cent y-o-y growth in MAU.

As for the logistics segment, it said Teleport delivered 63,945 tonnes in 1Q 2024, up 79 per cent from 1Q 2023, while the utilisation rate rose five per cent y-o-y to 16 per cent during the quarter.

Besides that, Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) completed 82 per cent more base maintenance checks compared to the same period last year, while the inflight service provider, Santan, recorded 5.1 million units sold in 1Q 2024, an increase of 13 per cent y-o-y. – BK