AirAsia expands Philippines market share further in Q3

MANILA, Philippines — AirAsia Group Bhd reported strong third quarter performance of its Philippine operations, which saw its share in the domestic market expand further during the period.

“We are pleased to share that AirAsia Indonesia reported the second consecutive profitable quarter this year, while AirAsia Philippines delivered strong operational performance by narrowing losses in a seasonally weak quarter,” AirAsia Group president Bo Lingam said in a statement.

For AirAsia Philippines, Lingam said demand during the three-month period was robust as passengers carried grew by 33 percent year-on-year, while load factor increased by nine percentage points to 86 percent.

Although available seat kilometers or ASK growth was high at 27 percent, he said AirAsia Philippines’ revenue did not falter as it managed to post a 40 percent growth year-on-year on the back of an 11 percent increase in revenue per available seat kilometer or RASK.

“AirAsia Philippines clearly benefited from the aggressive capacity expansion and aided by the re-opening of Boracay Island,” Lingam said.

Despite intense competition in the domestic market, AirAsia Philippines managed to expand its domestic market share to 19 percent in the third quarter.

“Our efforts to gain market dominance continuously bear fruit, as our domestic market share in Indonesia and the Philippines each increased by one percentage point to three percent and 19 percent, respectively,” Lingam said.

Lingam said the group is determined to bring all its ASEAN air operator’s certificate into profitability this year.

The AirAsia Group refers to Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippine units, whose results were consolidated for financial reporting purposes since 2017.

“Across AirAsia, we are committed to work on driving down costs through adoption of digital technology and streamlining processes, which we believe will help us to reduce costs in the long run,” Lingam said.

The AirAsia Group is the largest low-cost carrier in Asia, servicing the most extensive network of over 135 destinations across all ASEAN countries, Asia, India, Australia, China, Middle East and Hawaii in US.

In the Philippines, AirAsia operates a fleet of 24 aircraft on more than 500 weekly domestic and international flights from its hibs in Manila, Clark, Cebu, and Kalibo.

The family of Rep. Michael “Mikee” Romero through F&S Holdings owns 60 percent of AirAsia Inc. (AAI), operator of AirAsia Philippines, while the remaining 40 percent are still owned by Air Asia Bhd founders Tony Fernandez and Datuk Karmarudin Menarum.