Zest Air Asia, A Lot More Work!

23 August 2013

The Philippine affiliate of AirAsia (PAA) needs a lot of work according to its Chief Executive Officer in a press statement released yesterday.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said Wednesday that strategic alliance with Zest Air is only the first step and a lot more work needs to be done in terms of integration and rationalisation of routes and resources, and maximising the slots in Manila.". 

PAA saw a dramatic 304% year-on-year increase in revenue in the second half of  2013 after being in operations for over just a year following the integration with Zest Airways.

“The recent strategic alliance with Zest Air which was officially approved on 10 May 2013 boosted PAA’s operational numbers.” said PAA’s CEO  Maan Hontiveros.

“Total passengers carried during the quarter was up 114% to 0.14 million which led to a 28ppt increase in load factor at 76% as compared to 48% in 2Q2012. RASK was also up by 66% and CASK was down by 43% y-o-y which means that we are moving in the right direction.” adds Hontiveros.

Honitveros stated that “further integration is being done between PAA and Zest Air, focusing on the maximisation of high value Manila slots.”

The recent suspension of Zest Airways did not affect the operations of PAA.

The Philippine Air Asia Group maintains a fleet of 14  A320 aircraft, with 3 aircraft operated by PAA. The group expects delivery of 2 more A320's before the end of the year.