AirAsia Philippine gears up to boost fleet

MANILA, Philippines — Budget airline AirAsia Philippines is expanding its fleet in the second and third quarters of the year to ferry passengers to tourism hotspots, particularly Cebu, Clark and Kalibo.

AirAsia Philippines spokesman Steve Dailisan said the airline is bringing in new aircraft to expand its capacity in serving passengers and support the recovery trend of the business.

“To sustain our momentum, the airline continues with the push to return to service more aircraft which will be assigned to our Cebu, Clark and Kalibo hubs,” Dailisan said.

The low-cost carrier ended the first quarter with a load factor of 92 percent, putting up one of the best numbers among all AirAsia units. Airlines measure the load factor by getting the percentage of seats sold during a period.

AirAsia Philippines increased its flight frequency, seat capacity, and passengers carried by 84 percent in the first quarter compared to pre-pandemic levels.

It sold 1.4 million seats from January to March this year, up by eight percent from a year ago.

The Philippine subsidiary of the Malaysian carrier attributed the growth to the 70 percent jump in sales for international seats fueled by the reopening of East Asian destinations.

AirAsia Philippines is also expanding its international offering in the second and third quarters to capture the rebounding market for foreign travel.

“AirAsia Philippines intends to sustain the momentum by opening new international destinations this second and third quarters, (and) we expect these developments to encourage guests to fulfill their travel plans as we impact the speedy recovery of the travel and tourism industries,” Dailisan said.

AirAsia ferry passengers from Manila go to Puerto Princesa, Tagbilaran, Caticlan, Narita, Osaka and Macau on most occasions. On the other hand, most guests from Cebu head to Puerto Princesa and Caticlan.

Dailisan said AirAsia Philippines is offering a seat sale with a base fare of P55 per way. The seat sale will last until May 7 and flights can be used up to Nov. 30 this year.

Airlines are benefitting from the continuous decline in the prices of jet fuel, as it paves the way for the government to cut the fuel surcharge passed on to travelers.

For the second straight month in May, the Civil Aeronautics Board trimmed the fuel surcharge to Level 5, compelling airlines to reduce ticket prices as well.