AirAsia Philippines to halt Manila-China flights in Q4 2024

AirAsia Philippines is set to halt its flights between Manila and China this year, as the carrier said it will focus more on other destinations following the low demand from the service.

According to AirAsia chief executive officer Ricardo Isla, the sales of the carrier has yet to bounce back to levels seen prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, moreso for its Manila and China flights.

“Transparently, by fourth quarter, no more China flights for us. At the end of the day, we have to also make sure that we are building profitability,” he said.

Isla said China accounted for 30% of AirAsia Philippines’ passenger traffic in 2019, when it flew to about seven cities in the country. This declined to four in 2023, and has since gone down even further to two.

“For AirAsia Philippines, from 2023 to 2024, we have surpassed 2023 significantly. The improvements were significant. However, versus 2019, we are not there yet,” he said during the EJAP-SMC Aviation Forum in Makati City.

“As a matter of fact, the challenge is international. We are only approximately about 65% to 70% of international. For domestic, we’re almost hitting 2019 levels. The challenge to us is China,” he said.

Sought for more details, Isla said there would be no more departing and arriving flights to and from China and Manila by the fourth quarter, but passengers can still book connecting flights passing through Kuala Lumpur.

“We just have to concentrate on the other destinations. The demand’s not yet there, but we’re hoping. Tignan natin (Let’s see),” he said.

“We are building muscle in countries like Japan which is good for tourism, especially Filipinos. So there’s Narita, there's Osaka, now we’re gonna add, let’s say, Okinawa, and very soon, Nagoya. So you have to look at the pluses and the minus,” he added.

Asked regarding the company’s plans to go listed, Isla said is still on the table, but it will not be happening in the near term.

“It’s in the roadmap, but not immediate. Not in the next two to four years,” he said during the same event.

AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tony Fernandes earlier said he was hoping that the company would go public in 2018, but this was deferred due to risks in the aviation sector.

PHOTO::AirAsia Philippines chief executive officer Ricardo Isla

— LA, GMA Integrated News