This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 11, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X Bhd’s (AAX) turnaround story continues as the long-haul, low-cost affiliate of AirAsia Bhd carried 15% more passengers to 1.06 million in the first quarter of 2016 (1Q16) from 914,970 a year ago, on a 5% increase in capacity to 1.3 million seats flown.

“The capacity injected was to cater to the rising demand in high-traffic markets and expansion to high-yield routes such as New Delhi and Auckland, which commenced in February and March 2016 respectively,” said AAX in a statement yesterday.

The airline noted that the passenger load factor grew 8 percentage points to 82% in 1Q16 from 74% in 1Q15.

Its revenue passenger kilometres or RPK and available seat kilometres or ASK rose 19% and 7% to 5.26 billion and 6.44 billion respectively, mainly due to strong traffic demand in China and Australia markets.

The group’s Bangkok-based airline, Thai AirAsia Co Ltd, recorded an improved load factor of 88% in 1Q16, on the back of high passenger traffic during the peak season, while overall operating performance for Indonesia AirAsia X has remained consistent.

As at 1Q16, AAX’s total fleet stood at 29.

Going forward in 2016, AAX said it remains cautiously optimistic as the challenging operating environment is expected to persist with the currency volatility, regulatory uncertainty and other external factors beyond the group’s control.

“The group remains prudent in its expansion plan and continues to explore strategic initiatives to ensure sustainable growth,” it added.