INDIA. NewDelhi. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia Group Bhd anticipates its 2020 capability to be just 45% to last year’s 60%, and to fill 70-75% of the seats this year contrasting the usual 85%.
According to Refinitiv Eikon data, the airline reported on Tuesday its major Quarter 1 loss since being listed on the Malaysian Bourse in November 2004. The airline’s website contains the forecast.
The airline hopes travel demand to bounce back to a certain level in 2021, with capacity reaching 85% of its 2019 extent and a standard of the proportion of seats packed, returning to 85 percent in 2021, as per the presentation.
The COVID-19 catastrophe has resulted in boundary closures in most of AirAsia’s pivotal markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Phillippines, China, and India, occurring in a 22% diminution in the total number of passengers carried in the first quarter to 9.85 million.
AirAsia stated a loss of 803.3 million ringgit ($187.91 million) for the quarter ended March, from 96.1 million ringgit net profit in the year-ago period. Profits knockdown to 15% to 2.31 billion ringgit.
The Airline last month said they had received proposals from investment bankers, lenders, and potential investors to help and deal with the pandemic.
Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in a statement “The company had required payment deferrals from suppliers and lenders to ensure adequate working capital and had modernised a major segment of its fuel hedges”
AirAsia has also applied for bank loans in countries it operates in to shore up liquidity, the statement said.
It’s gonna be the story for other private airlines too if nations will remain in dilemma about the suitable strategy to deal with the pandemic and saving economies.