AirAsia pax up in 3Q; Kalanithi Maran increases SpiceJet stake
Shares in AirAsia gained 4.7% as the carrier reported a 12.4% increase in passenger numbers to 4.0 million in the three months ended Sep-2010. Thai AirAsia handled 1.4 million passengers in the period (+8.8%) while Indonesia AirAsia handled 1.1 million passengers (+8.3%). Load factors for the three AirAsia branded airlines were in the 76-81% range.
Kalanithi Maran purchases additional 2.28% stake in SpiceJet
On the other end of the spectrum, shares in SpiceJet slipped 3.3% yesterday after the carrier announced Sun TV founder Kalanithi Maran and his unlisted aviation firm, KAL Airways, acquired an additional 9.22 million shares or 2.28% stake in SpiceJet through an off-market transaction. Mr Maran's direct holding in the carrier now stands at 26.2%.
Also declining yesterday was Norwegian Air Shuttle (-3.3%) and Southwest (-2.5%) ahead of the release of their financial results for 3Q2010 later this week.
Selected LCCs daily share price movements (% change): 19-Oct-2010
Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, Yahoo! Finance & Reuters