AirAsia Philippines posts 34% rise in passenger volume

AIRASIA PHILIPPINES has grown its international market by more than three times in the third quarter by flying 354,000 passengers year on year, the low-cost carrier said on Thursday.

Including non-international passengers, the airline carried about 1.64 million passengers from July to September, 34.4% higher than the 1.22 million recorded in 2022.

Malaysian multinational company Capital A Berhad, the parent firm of AirAsia Philippines, said its Philippine operations led its aviation operations for the third quarter.

Capital A said that as a group, airline operations in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia maintained a “strong” load factor of 89% with 14.7 million passengers out of a 16.5-million seat capacity on 152 operating aircraft.

Year to date, it said consolidated airline operations have recovered 76% of passenger volume from 2019, “surpassing overall capacity recovery of 73% for the same period.”

Earlier, the company said it is optimistic about a better performance in 2024 after the renewal agreement between its parent firm and engine provider CFM International, which focuses on enhancing fleet stability on-site and virtual monitoring of AirAsia’s LEAP-1A engine operation.

The parent firm of AirAsia Philippines earlier announced that it is aiming to fully reactivate its 204 aircraft after a new agreement with its engine provider, CFM International.

Capital A has also been targeting to expand its fleet to more than 300 aircraft in the next five years.

To date, AirAsia Philippines flies from Manila’s international airport to 11 domestic destinations and 12 international destinations. — A.E.O. Jose