AirAsia X Berhad (“AirAsia X” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce its operating statistics for the first quarter of 2019 (“1Q19”).

The Company posted a Passenger Load Factor (“PLF”) of 83% during 1Q19, marginally lower by 1ppt year-on-year (“YoY”). This comes on the back of a decline in number of passengers carried during the quarter by 5% YoY at 1,512,546, while the Company’s Available Seats per Kilometre (“ASK”) also reduced 5% YoY at 8,707 million due to shorter stage routes in operation following the termination of Tehran, Kathmandu and Male after the first quarter of 2018 (“1Q18”). The YoY variance is evident as the Company optimised its route network by terminating non-core routes and redeployed capacity and frequency after 1Q18.

In January 2019, AirAsia X Malaysia began serving the Taipei-Osaka route and in February 2019, launched direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Fukuoka, which serves as the Company’s latest unique route in Japan and has recorded strong PLF since route commencement. In moving our focus away from single-route countries and supporting growth in our core markets, AirAsia X Malaysia terminated Auckland, New Zealand in February 2019. Furthermore the Company undertook capacity realignment on selected routes during the quarter, namely Taipei, Gold Coast, Perth and Sydney as the focus remains on advancing yield. The fleet size of AirAsia X Malaysia remains at 24 A330s as at the end of March 2019.

On the associates, AirAsia X Thailand’s PLF for 1Q19 remains robust at 90% despite a 38% YoY increase in seat capacity, compared to last year’s 94%. Following the addition of 3 aircraft in Thailand after 1Q18, the number of passengers carried recorded a 32% YoY increase, standing at 665,432 passengers carried during the quarter under review. While no new routes were introduced during 1Q19, AirAsia X Thailand’s network reflects notable expansion during the past year, with 6 routes as at March 2019, compared to 4 routes in 1Q18. AirAsia X Thailand added one aircraft during the quarter, bringing its fleet size to 10 aircraft as at end of March 2019.

AirAsia X Indonesia served its final scheduled flight from Bali to Tokyo in January 2019, and carried 6,880 passengers during the quarter, posting a PLF of 68%. In the wake of the suspension of AirAsia X Indonesia’s scheduled flights, AirAsia X Indonesia will operate on a non-scheduled flight basis moving forward. The number of aircraft operated by AirAsia X Indonesia remains at 2 A330s, bringing the total AirAsia X Group’s fleet size to 36 A330s as at end of 1Q19, including 4 aircraft which are on direct third-party lease to AirAsia X Thailand.