AirAsia eyes 45% of Malaysian market, 70% of domestic sector

CEBU (Sept 24): AirAsia aims to capture up to 45% of Malaysia’s overall aviation market and 70% of the domestic sector within the next two years, supported by new aircraft capacity and an international expansion strategy.

AirAsia Aviation Group chief commercial officer Amanda Woo said the airline currently holds about 41% of Malaysia’s overall market and 60% of the domestic sector.

“With the additional capacity and aircraft deliveries, we are confident of lifting our overall market share to 45% and our domestic share to 70%,” she told Bernama on the sidelines of the launch of AirAsia’s resumed direct flight between Kuala Lumpur and Cebu, the Philippines, on Tuesday.

She said the airline had fully recovered its capacity across Asean and India following the Covid-19 pandemic, and is now pursuing growth beyond the region.

“This year, we launched services to Karachi (Pakistan) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan), and Istanbul is next on the road map. We are also looking at the Gulf region, which will serve as a strategic hub to connect flights from Kuala Lumpur to Europe, including London,” she said.

Woo said the expansion is in line with AirAsia’s multi-hub strategy and its vision of positioning Kuala Lumpur as a mega hub for the group, enabling seamless connectivity across Asean and beyond.

“Malaysia is our core market, and we want Kuala Lumpur to stand out as the preferred hub. With more aircraft coming in, we are confident of strengthening our market share both domestically and internationally,” she added.