Malaysia’s AirAsia X adds 7 new routes; Asean air travel to see V-shaped comeback: Capital A

AIR travel in South-east Asia is likely to see a V-shaped rebound in the coming months, a top executive from Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia’s parent company said on Wednesday (June 15).

Capital A - the company formerly known as the AirAsia Group - has big plans to expand the capacity of its aviation business. It wants to get more planes back in the skies by the end of this year, while long-haul affiliate AirAsia X will add 7 new routes this year, including from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur to Dubai, Istanbul and London.

“We will see a V-shaped comeback,” said Colin Currie, the president (commercial) of Capital A, at a media briefing. “We really do see that demand from our customers who want to travel, and we’re very optimistic.”

Before the pandemic struck in early 2020, Capital A had about 200 aircraft in operation. As of the fourth quarter of 2021, this number stood at 178 and the aim is to bring that figure up to 202 by the end of this year. AirAsia X has 6 Airbus planes in service, and the plan is to have 15 jets in operation by year’s end.

AirAsia X chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail said the carrier will focus on medium-haul flights that have a better chance of commercial viability as part of the broader strategy to return to profit. He noted that Airasia X will need 2 years’ time to return to pre-pandemic capacity.

At the briefing, Currie also noted that the company’s growing aviation segment will complement Capital A’s Teleport business, to enable the logistics arm to utilise the belly space of planes to boost the group’s revenue.

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Last month, Capital A reported a net loss of RM1.08 billion (S$340.2 million) for the quarter ended March 31, which was a 10.35 per cent larger loss compared with the same quarter in 2021. Revenue for the first 3 months of 2022 stood at RM812 million, an increase of 153 per cent compared to a year ago, largely due to the reopening of international borders and a significant pick-up in air travel.

Giving an update on the airasia Super App, Currie said the digital product, which e-hailing, food and express delivery services, is gaining momentum with over 14 million active users as of March 31 this year. The projection is for the number of users to reach 21 million by December.

“We just hit 1 million rides in April this year, after 8 months of operation. We believe that (e-hailing service) Airasia Ride is now a firm competitor to take market share from Grab in the future,” he added.