The Philippine unit of Southeast Asia’s largest budget airline incurred a net loss in 2018 due to costlier jet fuel prices and volatile foreign exchange.
AirAsia Philippines reported a net loss of P2.7 billion last year from a net profit of P418.48 million in 2017.
The airline’s revenues amounted to P20.90 billion last year from P16 billion in 2017.
“Despite operational growth, profitability was impacted by higher jet fuel costs and a volatile forex market,” AirAsia Philippines said.
The local airline said total number of seats flown rose 34 percent i9n 2018, while the total number of guests carried increased 30 percent to 6,866,862, far exceeding the market’s growth of about 10 percent.
AirAsia Philippines also said its intense focus on connecting more and more internal destinations, especially secondary cities or hubs, saw an increase the domestic market share by four percentage points to 20 percent.