AirAsia Group narrowed its losses during the third quarter of 2021. The results were attributed to cost control measures, namely decreased staff costs and lower operating expenses.
On November 22, 2021, AirAsia Group reported it ended the third quarter of 2021 with a net loss before tax (EBITDA) of 281 million Malaysian ringgit ($67 million), an improvement of 38% compared to the same period in 2020.
In a press statement, Group CEO of AirAsia Aviation, Bo Lingam, said: “We continued to improve our cost base through stringent cost containment measures. Our 3Q2021 fixed costs reduced 23% YoY, as airline staff costs were down 38% YoY due to headcount rationalisation & attrition.”
However, during the third quarter of 2021, the Group’s revenues decreased by 20% to 296 million Malaysian ringgit ($71 million) compared to 371 million Malaysian ringgits ($88 million) in Q2 2021. The airline’s revenue decreased due to constrained travel demand during the quarter.
“AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Indonesia and AirAsia Thailand experienced subdued momentum QoQ [quarter-on-quarter — ed. note] due to limited operations as travel was restricted for the most part of the quarter,” Lingam added.
During the third quarter, AirAsia Group observed positive developments “for air travel across Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines” because the airline saw a significant increase in seats sold for immediate and near-term travel.
Looking ahead to Q4 2021, AirAsia Group expects that the upcoming winter holiday season will spur air travel demand and further increase bookings for spontaneous travel. The airline aims to operate 60% of its pre-pandemic domestic flight capacity by December 2021.