AirAsia flew 97,484 people to Indonesia in December

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd, South-East Asia's biggest low-fare airline, said it carried 35% more passengers in December compared with a year earlier, as more people chose to fly for leisure and business in the region.

December traffic rose to 812,492, bolstered by a sevenfold growth in the number of people flying to Indonesia, where AirAsia began serving in December 2004, according to an e-mailed statement by the company. AirAsia said it flew 97,484 people to Indonesia in December.

The number of passengers flying to Malaysia rose to 514,161 in December, 19% higher than a year earlier, while the number of people flying to Thailand rose 27% to 200,847 in December from a year earlier, AirAsia said.

Demand for travel helped lift profit in the fiscal first quarter ended Sept 30, by 13% to RM11.8mil from a year earlier. Sales grew 50% to RM186.3mil. It expects to exceed annual profit in 2005.

AirAsia serves 57 destinations in Malaysia and six other Asian countries.

Source:
Bloomberg
February 8, 2006