Air Asia

[Negroni]

Thai Air Asia | Reopening all Domestic Routes in July 2020

Thai Air Asia will return to full domestic services in Thailand during July, with all routes and flights back in action for a total of 23 destinations and 25 routes. The announcement was made this afternoon. Thai Air Asia’s CEO told Associated Press that the airline has been slowly ramping up its domestic routes since May and is now ready to be at full domestic capacity to help promote tourism by July.

The resumption includes includes routes such as Chiang Mai-Hat Yai, Chiang Mai-Pattaya, Hat Yai-Pattaya and Khon Kaen-Hat Yai, for a total of 25 routes with 68 flights (round-trip) per day.

The chairman also said that Thai Air Asia is taking every possible precaution to ensure the safety of passengers and utilising proper hygiene measures on their flights to make sure all who fly with them feel safe and secure. This includes features such as special air filters and hygiene screening measures.

Airports of Thailand announced on its Facebook page that its 6 airports

Don Mueang
Phuket
Chiang Mai
Hat Yai
Chiang Rai
Suvarnabhumi

have resumed or are resuming operations. All airports accommodate both domestic and international flights.

[Admin]

AirAsia | Flights to Brisbane

New flights are linking Bangkok and Brisbane. The new route marks AirAsia’s first time operating out of Brisbane Airport and is expected to carry up to 150,000 people between the two cities over the next year. The direct service between Bangkok and Brisbane strengthens connections into Australia and adds to the extensive network of more than 140 destinations worldwide. Australia remains a key market for AirAsia and with new aircraft ordered we can continue to review potential future expansion opportunities where we witness the right levels of demand for great value, medium to long haul air travel.

Direct fares from Brisbane to Bangkok start at just AUD$199.

[Hooters]

Air Asia Digital App Launch

Air Asia is introducing a super app, in an attempt to off-set – at least partially – the significant financial losses brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The mobile application shuffles Air Asia’s model as a flight and accommodation provider, to a broader platform of complimentary services. The app will offer users a variety of options, including digital payment services, delivery services, and an e-commerce platform. Air Asia Chief Executive and founder, Tony Fernandes, says the idea for the app was floated prior to the pandemic, but Covid-19 hastened its development.

Air Asia’s Thai subsidiary, the majority Thai-owned Thai Air Asia, has been back flying domestic routes around Thailand since the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand lifted restrictions in June. “This journey didn’t start during the pandemic, this journey started 2 years ago, but it was accelerated because of the outbreak. This is not a Plan B, this was always our Plan A, but we still think aviation will definitely come back.”

Air Asia was hit with losses of US$238 million in the second quarter of 2020 and says it desperately needs to seek new sources of revenue while the economic effects of Covid-19 continue to be felt around the globe. The Bangkok Post reports that from October 8, users in Thailand and the wider ASEAN region can access the new app through the company’s website or through its existing mobile app.

Fernandes says payment and logistics services will be provided by the airline’s subsidiary operation, Air Asia Digital. Users will be able to book flights (including those of other airlines) and hotels, as well as enroling in a rewards programme. “Air Asia’s roots are from moving people from A to B and moving cargo from A to B, and that is the basis of Air Asia Digital and the basis for our platform AirAsia.com.”

The app is expected to face tough competition from super apps Grab and Gojek, currently understood to be in merger talks. Should a merger go ahead, the combined operation would create a monopoly on food delivery and car-hailing services in the ASEAN region. However, Fernandes remains optimistic, with the airline hoping to complement existing services. “I don’t believe we are here to compete, but here to complement. Airlines always see us as competitors, but we complemented the full service and created a new market that was not there. Before, only a few people could fly, now everyone can fly, and in the same way we will complement the market.”

[Hooters]

Air Asia | 2 new Domestic Routes into Hua Hin

Two new air routes announced by local Thai AirAsia will be a boon to coastal town of Hua Hin.

Chiang Mai – Hua Hin | Udon Thani – Hua Hin.

The newly announced routes will allow getaways to the popular resort town on the new twice-weekly flights. The flights will be every Friday and Sunday. The CEO of Thai AirAsia , Santisuk Klongchaiya, says that AirAsia is always seeking new opportunities to stimulate domestic tourism as well as offer convenient connections between the nation’s regions. He noted Hua Hin is a “high potential” destination that has long been demanded.

“We believe this is the year of domestic tourism both for Thai travellers and business operators, which is why we have connected Hua Hin to the northern city of Chiang Mai and to the northeast via Udon Thani, flying twice a week on Fridays and Sundays to allow travellers to spend their weekends in the resort town with ease,” Santisuk said on TTR Weekly.

“Hua Hin is a seaside town that offers incomparable relaxation. Peaceful and serene, the destination is also home to various activities and is a perfect fit for friends, couples and families with its coffee shops, fresh seafood and sites such as Mrigadayavan Palace, Hua Hin Train Station and night market.” A special fare of 777 THB per trip is being promoted to AirAsia BIG members or 820 THB per flight for other guests. The new service will start on August 07.2020

Chiang Mai is already an established tourist destination and will provide a valuable feeder market for the new Hua Hin flights. Udon Thani in Isaan, Northeast Thailand, has a growing population and will provide weekend getaways for north-easterners, or an escape from their coastal homes in Hua Hin for an Isaan weekend.

[Hooters]

Thai Air Asia | Huge Q2 loss

Despite many of Thailand’s discount airlines taking to the skies again, all airlines are still in the financial doldrums as they battle travel restrictions, a risk-averse flying public and closed international borders. Now Asia Aviation, major shareholder of Thai AirAsia, has announced revenue of 2,221 Million THB and a net losses of 1,210.6 Million THB for Q2 2020. The net loss was predominantly due to the travel restrictions at the time, causing a massive decline in demand and the temporary grounding of its fleet due to the travel bans. TAA’s CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya says the group struggled to maintain minimal operations during the 2nd quarter, especially on international routes.

• “Total revenue for the quarter decreased by 78% mainly due to the reduction in passengers carried, which was reduced by 95% year-on-year, to 283,601 passengers.” During Q2 international passenger traffic plunged by almost 100% compared to the same period last year, while the overall load factor in the same quarter declined to 52%.

• “Total expenses decreased by 63% versus the same period last year, attributable to lower fuel costs and non-fuel expenses. Fuel costs fell as a result of capacity cuts and lower fuel prices, while non-fuel expenses decreased as a result of cost-saving initiatives and eliminating all non-essential spending.”

• “With the situation improving and domestic flights gradually resuming in May, we were able to offer sale promotions such as the Unlimited Pass, to stimulate air travel in the latter half of the year.” The Unlimited Pass offered 100,000 travellers fares costing only 100 baht each if they purchased a 3,000 “passport” which would run until the end of 2020.

The Thai franchise of Malaysia’s Air Asia parent is still focussing on domestic routes and working with the government economic stimulus package as well as introducing new routes such as Chiang Mai-Hua Hin and Udon Thani-Hua Hin and the possibilities of flying into Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport along with its base at Don Mueang International Airport.

Thai Air Asia hope to resume international flight operations through travel bubble schemes with certain target markets, primarily China and other countries that have effectively contained the outbreak. At this stage the Thai Government have shelved travel bubble plans as some of the previous low-risk countries have again flared up with new outbreaks.

The group are also hoping that they will be able to re-introduce inflight services later this month and food and beverage services soon as well. Up to date all domestic flights have been a peaceful experience without any interruptions for inflight services, a major cash cow for discount airlines.

AirAsia Revenue - 98%

As Asia’s budget airlines struggle for survival, AirAsia Group Wednesday reported its revenue plummeted 98% year-on-year. The unaudited consolidated second quarter results of AirAsia Group, identified as the Consolidated Group (Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia) 1 reported revenue of 119 Million ringgit, (around 888 Million THB) down 96% from 2.9 Billion ringgit (21.6 Billion THB) in the second quarter of 2019.

Revenue declined as capacity was significantly reduced due to the grounding of the fleet at the end of March, prior to a gradual resumption of domestic operations from the end of April as travel restrictions eased. It was also negatively impacted by 60 Million ringgit (448 Million THB) in refunds. The Consolidated Group posted a loss in Q2 2020 of 5.1 Billion THB, in comparison to 1.9 Billion in 2019. The loss was attributed to a shortfall in revenue amidst subdued travel demand due to lockdowns and border restrictions worldwide.

As flights gradually resumed from the end of April, the Group saw an uptick in several key operational metrics in June compared to May, including triple the number of passengers carried by AirAsia Malaysia, doubling the number of passengers carried by AirAsia Thailand, and a 10% increase in load factor while reaching 6 times the number of passengers carried by AirAsia India, reflecting the strong rebound demand for air travel.

“We will be able to maintain sustainable operations on the back of our domestic services for the rest of the year if travel restrictions and border closures remain in place. Fares have been improving, and we believe that competitors will continue to price rationally. We managed to reduce airline operational expenses by 72% for the quarter with strict cost control and thanks to our staff taking pay cuts across the Group. 70% of our fuel hedging costs were restructured, and we have received support from lessors for deferrals, as seen in the 99% reduction in net cash used for financing activities in 2Q 2020.”

[Hooters]

New Fees | Check-in at the Airport Counter

The AirAsia Group has announced it will begin charging travellers a fee to check in at airport counters - you know, that bit in the terminal where it says “Check In’. Even better, their excuse for the new charge… in part to encourage customers to “minimise physical contact with staff during the coronavirus pandemic”. Malaysia’s AirAsia last month reported the biggest quarterly loss in its history due to the impacts the closing borders and grounded airlines has had on travel demand, with revenue down 96%.

At this stage the new charge has not been announced for the Thai franchise, Thai Air Asia. But travellers on the some of the parent Air Asia flights, who don’t check in via the airline’s website, mobile app or airport kiosk, will be charged the equivalent of 20 Malaysian Ringgit (150 THB) for domestic flights and 30 Malaysian Ringgit (225 THB) for international flights.

This new rule is applicable at Airports in Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Taipeh, Kaohsiung and Honolulu.

There are exceptions. Counter check-in will still be provided free to guests with reduced mobility, Premium Flex or Premium Flatbed guests, those affected by flight disruptions or if there’s been an airport kiosk outage. Travellers who want to avoid the new counter check-in fees can either check-in online or use the Air Asia kiosks in the airports to scan or enter their flight details and receive a boarding pass.

The AirAsia Group COO Javed Malik says he hopes the new fees will help “motivate travellers to make use of the airline’s investment in digital technology”. “In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, these self-check-in facilities have become very crucial in minimising physical contact between our guests and staff.” In response to the huge losses the airline has had to shoulder, officials say they have applied for bank loans in its operating markets and had “been presented with proposals from investment bankers, lenders and potential investors to raise capital”.

The newly announced add-on fees for AirAsia are still below the European budget carrier Ryanair who charge 55 Euro (2,000 THB) charge for airport counter check-ins. That charge was put in place before the Covid-19 outbreak.

[Bundy]

Thai Air Asia returns to Suvarnabhumi Airport

Thai AirAsia is spreading its Bangkok wings and opening up a secondary hub at the main Suvarnabhumi airport (BKK), to help broaden its attraction and bolster its bottomline. Thai Air Asia was the first airline to head back to the moth-balled Don Mueang in 2012 to re-establish the older airport after all the airlines moved across to the new Suvarnabhumi and discount airlines were seeking a lower-cost base.

Although Thai Air Asia carried 22.15 million passengers last year, this year’s total will fall a long way short, just 6 million for 2020 up to date. Under the new set up, Thai AirAsia will have resumed nearly 90% of its pre-Covid domestic services, a total of 109 daily flights to 39 destinations. There will be 97 flights from Don Mueang Airport and 12 from Suvarnabhumi Airport.

With only a handful of international traffic, Suvarnabhumi officials are keen to re-kindle revenue for the massive airport and have struck a deal with Thai Air Asia to trial operations from BKK. They will be the only domestic carrier to operate flights from the two airports. If the 2 month trial at Suvarnabhumi is successful, Thai AirAsia plans to add another plane to the BKK fleet by the end of the year. At this stage the trial is only approved up to the end of November.

Thai Air Asia have been concentrating on their ‘bus’ model to ferry passengers from the terminals to their aircraft waiting on remote airport aprons, and visa versa, to avoid some of the landing charges and using the sky-bridges. Some passengers have been complaining about the long trips in crowded buses, wild rides and over-enthusiastic air conditioning, whilst being told to strictly adhere to social distancing.

This week the Malaysian parent company Air Asia, announced the introduction of a ‘super app’, in an attempt to off-set the significant financial losses brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The mobile application shuffles Air Asia’s model as a flight and accommodation provider, to a broader platform of complimentary services. The app will offer users a variety of options, including digital payment services, delivery services, and an e-commerce platform. Air Asia Chief Executive and founder, Tony Fernandes, says the idea for the app was floated prior to the pandemic, but Covid-19 hastened its development.

[Dr.Evil]

Thai AirAsia to keep only one-fourth of staff

Thai AirAsia will keep only one-fourth of the staff and ask the rest to take a leave-without-pay offer for four months, starting February, as the re-emerging coronavirus outbreak has dealt a heavy blow to the aviation sector. Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Asia Aviation Plc (AAV), the largest shareholder of the airline, said on Monday only 25% of its workforce will be active after this month as the airline is downsizing to match real demand. He did not mention the size of the workforce, but according to the latest AAV annual report, it had 5,974 employees in 2019. “Before the Covid-19 resurgence, we had 40 planes serving domestic flights. But since the re-emerging of the outbreak, some provincial lockdowns have made it impossible for people to travel and passenger demand has dropped significantly at every airport,” said Mr Tassapon.

The budget airline has 62 aircraft, which has not been fully utilised since the first nationwide lockdown in April last year. It flies only 10 planes now due to the sluggish demand for air travel. He said the company had no layoff plans for now but it was difficult to predict when the market would recover. He said the furlough from next month to May should allow the employees to find other revenue sources and resume work immediately if the situation improves.

Mr Tassapon said there was little hope for financial support for airlines from the government. Thai AirAsia now is trying to secure loans from banks by itself, instead of waiting for state approval, he added. The furlough, the second in the past few months, was larger in scale that the first round late last year. “The international market should recover in the last quarter of this year, but only slowly. Half of the global population must be vaccinated before international travel can resume,” said Mr Tassapon.

As of September 2020, its staff-related expenses accounted for 18% of operating costs, the second highest after jet fuel. During the first nine months of 2020, the low-cost airline carried 6.68 million passengers, a 60% dip compared to the same period in 2019. AAV stocks plunged six satang, or 2.54%, to 2.30 THB on Monday.