Capital A's aviation segment grows strongly in Q1 as China reopens

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Xinhua) — Malaysian airline group Capital A (formerly known as AirAsia) said Thursday that its aviation segment continues to grow strongly towards a full recovery, buoyed by the sustained demand for international travel, alongside the re-opening of China.

Capital A said in a statement that a total of nine routes to China’s destinations were relaunched, and the overall load factor for China’s routes was 84 percent, representing 2.5 percent of the total international passengers.

The consistent international demand also prompted all airlines under the group to increase international capacity by 21 percent while the domestic market remained stable with a slight improvement of 2 percent quarter on quarter.

At the end of the quarter, the consolidated airlines (consisting of AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia and AirAsia Philippines) had activated 157 aircraft, of which 142 were operating and 15 were spares.

The increased operating aircraft, as well as robust travel demand, resulted in strong passenger traffic of 13.2 million, representing a 153 percent and 11 percent growth year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter, respectively.

The group operated 14.8 million seats in the first quarter, 71 percent of the first quarter of 2019 levels, with a load factor of 89 percent, at par with pre-pandemic levels.