AIRASIA X RECORDS 2ND CONSECUTIVE 56% GROWTH IN 2ND QUARTER 2011

AirAsia X, the long haul, low fare affiliate of AirAsia today announced another strong growth in the second quarter of 2011.

Similar to its 56.5% growth in passengers carried in the first quarter of 2011, AirAsia X has carried 0.62 million passengers in quarter 2, an increase of 56% over the same quarter in 2010.

Aircraft fleet remains at nine Airbus A330s and two Airbus A340s. AirAsia X added services to Christchurch on 1 April 2011, bringing its route network to 15 destinations globally.

In terms of passenger traffic, AirAsia X grew by 66.6% to 3.5 billion Revenue-Passenger-Kms (RPKs) for Q2-2011, achieving similar levels as the first quarter of 2011 and solidifying its position as the second-largest low-cost carrier in Southeast Asia, after Malaysia AirAsia.

Its capacity grew by 60.2% to 4.5 billion Available-Seat-Kms (ASKs), resulting in a load factor of 79%. This is an increase of 4 percentage-points from the same quarter in 2010, where it registered a load factor of 75%.

All routes that AirAsia X has operated for over a year have yielded a positive increase in load factor.

The reduction in demand from the Japan Earthquake led to a slight reduction in load factor compared to the 81% registered in Q1-2011, while new passengers on its Christchurch service helped to offset the lower passenger numbers on the Tokyo flights.

Cargo operations continue to be strong, with AirAsia X carrying 8,998 tons of freight, registering a 68% growth from a year ago.