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AirAsia X eyes returning to black by end-2023: CEO

MELBOURNE: AirAsia X Bhd aims to be back in black by the end of 2023 as demand for air travel continues especially among the middle-income earners who are the main market that the airline serves. 

The long-haul low-cost carrier's chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail said the last seven years had been a tough job for him as AirAsia X was going through a hard time although it was a profitable airline. 

"Covid-19 didn't help but it's something that is not new to me. We'll just have to restart and see how it goes. The good thing is the market demand is very high but the supply is very low," he said. 

Benyamin was speaking to reporters at the Tullamarine Airport after the arrival of AirAsia X's inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne on Wednesday. 

He said the airline had benefitted from its recent restructuring as it managed to lower its cost structure which meant the carrier could continue to offer lower flight ticket prices to its passengers. 

"I think we'll be attracting the middle-income group who's not been able to afford to pay high fares now…You can see the fares between us and the full-service carriers. There's a big difference," he added. 

AirAsia X's net profit in the first half of the year ending June 2022 stood at RM32.8 million on the back of RM438.77 million revenue.

Benyamin said the focus for AirAsia X moving forward was making sure the carrier had the right frequency to the destinations it flies to. 

"I think back in the days we were flying too many frequencies. The key thing is to find the right number. I think at least seven times, eight times, 10 times a week is sufficient and we can make quite a bit of margin there."

"Let's not be over aggressive. I think that's the focus for us," he added. 

AirAsia X will also continue leveraging on its cargo business as an additional revenue stream. 

Benyamin said cargo was the airline's core business during the two-year Covid-19 pandemic period but as domestic and international borders had reopened, it would focus on its commercial passenger business as well. 

"We're not saying that we eliminated the cargo. Cargo yields are still fairly high. We try to have a combination of cargo and passengers together," he said.

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