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While AirAsia Indonesia has always been
a people’s airline, this year it was made
official. On 29 December, following a
successful reverse takeover, PT AirAsia
Indonesia Tbk was publicly listed on
the Indonesia Stock Exchange, with PT
Indonesia AirAsia (the company behind our
Indonesian operations) as its subsidiary.
Its listing on the very last working day of
the year – to achieve a target it had set
earlier, namely ‘to go public in 2017’ – was
the result of sheer grit and determination,
two qualities that have marked AirAsia
Indonesia since its beginnings in 2004.
The going has not always been easy;
Mt Agung’s volcanic activities from
September onwards being just the latest
in a line of challenges.
Yet, AirAsia Indonesia has always been
able to pick itself up and move on. In
2017, despite the disruption caused by
volcanic activities, it recorded its second
consecutive year of operating profits.
In the first three quarters of the year, our
associate steadily built on the successful
turnaround it had achieved in 2016,
enhancing its average fares and operating
profits. In the fourth quarter, revenue
was affected by dampened tourism due
to fears related to Mt Agung. Despite this
hiccough, for the full year, it carried a total
of 6.72 million passengers, marking an
increase of 3% from 6.52 million in 2016,
with a load factor that remained constant
at a healthy 84%.
After a couple of years of removing
non-performing routes to better manage
its capacity, this year AirAsia Indonesia
unfolded its wings and, with one new
aircraft bringing its fleet size to 23, started
to build new skybridges once again.
Its target destinations? Two of the most
populous markets in the world, China
and India, with the Jakarta-Macao route
launched in August, followed by Bali-
Kolkata in October. The choice of these
destinations was influenced by AirAsia
Indonesia’s strategy of tapping into long-
haul sister airline AirAsia X Indonesia’s
connectivity. Earlier in the year, AirAsia X
Indonesia had launched flights from
Bali to Tokyo (Japan) and Mumbai
(India). Flights to and from Kolkata
involved a stopover in Kuala Lumpur,
making AirAsia Indonesia (along with
AirAsia X Indonesia) the first within the
AirAsia Group to endeavour 5th freedom
rights. This route, unfortunately, had
to be suspended following Mt Agung’s
eruption in November and its impact on
AirAsia Indonesia’s operations. However,
always relentless in optimising its
assets, AirAsia Indonesia immediately
used the aircraft time to strengthen its
Asean interconnectivity by increasing the
frequencies of Jakarta-Penang, one of its
most profitable routes, as well as Medan-
Kuala Lumpur.
NowTruly the
People’sAirline
SHARE OF INTERNATIONAL
VISITOR ARRIVALS IN LCCs
24.5
%
REVENUE
IDR 3,818
BILLION
[ ]
AirAsia Group Berhad
BUSINESS REVIEW
119