Bangkok--11 Nov--Thai AirAsia
Asia Aviation Plc. (AAV), major shareholder of Thai AirAsia, has released its earnings for the third quarter of 2015 continued robust growth with Thai AirAsia achieving total revenues of Baht 7,254.2 million, up 31 percent YoY and net profit of Baht 174.4 million, a reversal from the net loss when compared with the same period last year. Resulting from fuel prices dropped significantly while the average fare increased owing to the strong growth of demand. Total revenues for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2015 was Baht 21,873.3 million and net profit was Baht 1,471.4 million. Thus, net profit attributable to owners of the parent in Q3/2015 and for the nine-month period ended 30 September 2015 amounted to Baht 91.6 million and Baht 804.0 million respectively.
Mr. Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of AAV and Executive of Thai AirAsia, pointed out Thai AirAsia was able to achieve its growth targets for Q3/2015 resulting from the improvement in the political situation in Thailand which led to a more favorable performance in the tourism. In this quarter, the airline served 3.58 million passengers with a load factor of 81 percent and brought its fleet of aircraft to 44. To affirm its leadership and create new travel options for the Eastern region and Pattaya, the airline created its fifth flight base at U-Tapao Airport (Pattaya), a major step in offering a wider range of destinations.
In Q3 2015, Thai AirAsia added three new flight routes, namely; Bangkok-Bengaluru (India) and opened its fifth flight base at U-Tapao Airport (Pattaya) with direct flights to China's Nanning (3 times weekly) and Nanchang (4 times weekly), which both continue to receive positive feedback.
"U-Tapao Airport and Pattaya are both very ready to welcome travelers as they are proactive and have clear growth plans. We are confident to be operating from the new base and have stationed two aircraft there for both domestic and international flights. We believe that staying ahead of our competitors with a flight base in U-Tapao will provide us with greater business opportunities and our customers with greater travel options" Mr. Tassapon said.
For the fourth quarter of 2015, Mr. Tassapon stated Thai AirAsia will continue to penetrate the travel and investment markets of Pattaya and the Eastern Region via U-Tapao Airport with plans to introduce five more flight routes; direct to Macau (1 time daily), Singapore (1 time daily), Udon Thani (1 time daily), Chiang Mai (10 times weekly), and Hat Yai (4 times weekly). The airline will acquire 1 more aircraft to bring its fleet to 45 by the end of 2015 with confidence its passenger total at the end of the year will reach its target 14.5 million .