KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) – AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) carried 3.61 million passengers in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), down 15 per cent from 4.23 million passengers in FY14.
In its preliminary operating statistics released today, the low-cost airline said its capacity eased six per cent to 4.85 million versus 5.16 million previously.
The load factor fell by seven percentage points year-on-year (y-o-y) to 75 per cent.
“FY15 has been a challenging year, as the Group was set back by irrational competition from industry peers, currency volatility, regulatory uncertainties for Thailand and Indonesia, as well as a series of unforeseen circumstances,” the company said.
Nevertheless, AAX’s passenger load factor (PLF) rose two percentage points y-o-y to 83 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015 (4Q15), against the 81 per cent registered in the same period in 2014.
A rendering shows AirAsia X’s Airbus A350 XWB aircraft – EPA
“This positive achievement was driven by aggressive marketing activities, enhanced Fly-Thru connectivity in FY15 and the returned traffic after the challenging market conditions in 2014 and first half 2015.
“However, further improvement was hindered by the slower-than-expected recovery of Kathmandu’s operations after the massive Nepal earthquake,” the company said.
For Thai AirAsia X, PLF stood at 83 per cent in 4Q15 during the year-end peak, while Indonesia AirAsia X’s overall operating performance registered a consistent trend in 4Q15.
Moving forward into 2016, AAX remains vigilant and continues to explore strategic initiatives to ensure sustainable growth.
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