The Philippine unit of Southeast Asia’s largest budget airline said passenger traffic rose 25 percent in 2019 on the back of additional frequency for domestic and international routes.
Air Asia Philippines said passengers reached 8.55 million last year from 6.87 million in 2018.
The budget airline’s load factor stood at 88 percent, up 3 percentage points from 85 percent in 2018.
Air Asia Philippines recorded total passengers of 2.25 million in the fourth quarter, up 21 percent from 1.86 million passengers.
Air Asia Philippines attributed the growth of passenger traffic to the introduction of a new route, Manila-Bacolod, in addition to frequency increases across popular domestic and international routes such as Cagayan de Oro-Manila, Manila-Caticlan and Bangkok-Manila.
Load factor was, however, lower by 4 percentage points to 85 percent in 2019 due to the large increase in capacity.
The airline operates several flights to and from Manila, Davao, Cebu, Kalibo, Caticlan (Boracay), Tacloban, Tagbilaran (Bohol), Puerto Princesa (Palawan), Clark and Iloilo in the Philippines.
It operates international flights to and from Shanghai, Taipei, Incheon (Seoul), Hong Kong, Macau, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Guangzhou, Vietnam, Shenzhen, Kaohshing, Bali, Shenzhen, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.
The company plans to raise $200 million through an initial public offering this year or 2021. Air Asia Inc. tapped Citibank and BDO Capital and Investment Corp. as financial advisors.
The company plans to expand its fleet from 23 to 50 aircraft with the next three years.
The Romero family led by Michael and Shiela Romero owns 60 percent of AirAsia, while AirAsia Bread founders Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Menardum control 40 percent.