AirAsia India reports 42% increase in passenger traffic this quarter

Budget carrier AirAsia India (AAI) flew 589,000 passengers in three months till September, a 42% increase from the number of passengers it flew in the same period last year.

Budget carrier AirAsia India (AAI) flew 589,000 passengers in three months till September, a 42% increase from the number of passengers it flew in the same period last year.

Budget carrier AirAsia India (AAI) flew 589,000 passengers in three months till September, a 42% increase from the number of passengers it flew in the same period last year. (Reuters File Photo)

The airline, during the quarter, added three new destinations to its network and increased capacity (number of total seats flown) by 23% to 672,000, AirAsia said in a statement on Monday.

The number of passengers carried (by AirAsia India) increased 42% YoY to 590,000, while the capacity increased by 23% in July-September quarter of the current year, AirAsia said.

In AAI, while Tata Sons and Malaysian no-frills airline AirAsia Berhad each holds 49% stake, two of the airline’s directors, S Ramadorai and R Venkataramanan, hold 2% stake.

Three new routes — Bengaluru-Guwahati, Bengaluru-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Goa — were added in the flight network during the quarter while frequencies were scaled up on the Bengaluru-Goa route.

The airline also increased its seat factor by 12% to 88% from 76% recorded in the quarter ended September 2015, it said.

As on September 30, AirAsia India had eight Airbus A32O aircraft in its fleet against five in Q3 2015, it added.

“Board members and trustees are also aware that in the case of AirAsia, ethical concerns have been raised with respect to certain transactions as well as overall prevailing culture within the organisation,” Mistry said in the letter.

The government has already said “all issues (regarding AirAsia India) would be looked into and law of the land will have to be followed in case of any violation”.