AirAsia Group lowers Malaysia market recovery expectations

It said it now expected a return to 45% of pre-pandemic capacity in Indonesia, up from a previous expectation of 35%, but lowered its view on India to 65% from 75%. It is aiming for its Thai operations to exceed pre-COVID-19 capacity levels.

Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd has lowered its projected recovery rate in Malaysia to 60% of its pre-COVID-19 capacity by year-end, it said on Monday in its third-quarter operating statistics. The airline in August had said it expected a 70-75% recovery in Malaysia by the last quarter.

AirAsia Group's biggest market, it said it saw a 52% increase in domestic capacity in September compared to 40% in July, but stricter curbs on movement in October due to rising COVID-19 cases had reined in growth. It said it now expected a return to 45% of pre-pandemic capacity in Indonesia, up from a previous expectation of 35%, but lowered its view on India to 65% from 75%.

It is aiming for its Thai operations to exceed pre-COVID-19 capacity levels. Group load factor - a measure of how full its planes are - grew 7 percentage points in September versus July, the group said, without providing further detail.

It said passengers carried in that period increased by 36% for Malaysia, 79% for India and 65% for Thailand.

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