AirAsia Philippines said Monday it is optimistic about its outlook this year on the back of the anticipated rebound in the domestic market.
The Philippine unit of Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad expanded its domestic market share to 19 percent in 2021, up 3.5 notches from its 15.5-percent share in 2019.
The low-cost airline also peaked at 95 percent load factor over the course of the recent holiday, while ending December at 88 percent—both record high figures over the past 1.5 years.
It said the airline ranked third most popular in terms of flight bookings among AirAsia territories in December, following Malaysia and Thailand.
AirAsia noted that domestic travel was gaining stronger momentum in the recent quarter, mostly because of the low positive infection rate and daily case count.
The airlines said that while majority of airline bookings were done within 0 to 3 days, mainly for essential travel in the first half of 2021, the airline recently witnessed a significant increase in bookings for travel 1 to 3 months in advance—a telltale sign of growth in leisure travel and stronger consumer confidence.
AirAsia Philippines also recorded a 15-percent to 20-percent increase in bookings for near-term travel within 30 to 60 days over recent times.
AirAsia resumed flight operations to Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, servicing overseas Filipino workers and business travelers.
AirAsia said it is also closely monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, but expressed confidence that its multi-layered safety protocols, the 100-percent vaccination of its crew, the presence of high-efficiency particulate air filters in its aircraft and the shared culture of safety and vigilance spells optimum performance moving forward, amid the pandemic.
AirAsia Philippines said it has three main priorities in 2022, including cash availability and cash management to support recovery strategies en route to profitability; sustainable cost management and rationalization to operate commercial flights; and expansion of domestic presence from 14 destinations in 2021 to 18 this year and to grow regional routes by exploring opportunities in the Middle east, the United States and Australia.
AirAsia Philippines said it is highly optimistic that with improved synergies between the national and local governments, and the intensified vaccination program of the country, more Filipinos will be enticed to travel again.