In a statement, the airline said the performance was realised as more aircraft returned to service over the past year, effectively ramping up seat capacity by 27% y-o-y to 1.28 million seats while available seat kilometres (ASK) capacity grew by 17% y-o-y to 5.14 billion in Q3 2024.

In terms of network in Q3 2024, AirAsia X launched flights to Changsha (four times per week) and Madinah (twice per week) and reintroduced its Taipei-Osaka route (seven times per week), capitalising on the fifth freedom right it holds in the market.

“Connectivity was further enhanced to leverage two of the most profitable routes, namely Hangzhou (to six times weekly) and Xi’an (to four times weekly),” it said.

The budget carrier said that as of the end of September 2024, more than half the routes within its network served daily flights as the company continued to focus on catering to high travel demand.

The company’s associate, AirAsia X Thailand (TAAX), recorded a healthy passenger load factor at 80% for Q3 2024, down by two percentage points compared to the previous year.

“This came on the back of higher seat capacity which rose to 426,064 seats during the quarter, and TAAX’s number of passengers carried increased to 342,533 passengers.

“During the quarter under review, TAAX launched flights to Nagoya in Japan, marking its fourth destination in this perennial favourite country for travellers,” it added.

AirAsia X’s total fleet size remained at 18 A330s as of Sept 30, 2024, with 16 aircraft now activated and operational.

TAAX’s fleet size stood at eight A330s, with seven aircraft activated and operational.