AirAsia Philippines (AAP) said its revenues declined 18 percent to P5.5 billion in the first quarter from P6.7 billion in the same period last year.
In a statement, AAP parent firm AirAsia Group Berhad said its passenger volume dropped 9 percent but load factor remained healthy at 84 percent.
AirAsia carried passengers of 1.8 million in the quarter from 2 million last year.
Its market share grew 4 percentage points to 22 percent from 18 percent last year but this dropped to 20 percent in June.
AirAsia is slashing by 20 percent its fares for essential travellers locally for travel period from August to November this year.
“This is by far the toughest challenge we have faced since we began in 2001. Every crisis is an obstacle to overcome, and we have restructured the group into a leaner and tighter ship. We are positive in the strides we have made in bringing cash expenses down by at least 50 percent this year, and this will make us even stronger as the leading low-cost carrier in the region,” said
Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer of AirAsia Group Berhad.
Fernandes said the company is encouraged by the strong rebound demand seen since resuming operations in late April 2020. “We foresee this will continue in the coming months.”