Malaysia’s 2023 traffic growth could exceed forecast – again

 

The Malaysian air travel market had a strong finish to 2022, with its recovery rate defying official expectations. There is still significant scope for improvement in the international market in particular, and authorities are predicting that the pace of traffic growth will continue to build momentum in 2023.

Surging demand has driven a rapid increase in traffic in the latter part of 2022 – as it has done in many other markets.

Further increases in 2023 will be driven by international operations moving closer to full recovery.

A new report from the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) predicts that this will lift Malaysia’s system capacity to around 70% of pre-pandemic levels, although actual growth may turn out to be much higher.

One thing that won’t change is that the two big groupings – AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines – will continue to dominate the Malaysian market.

Their comparative shares have shifted, however. AirAsia’s market share lead – in terms of system capacity and traffic – has shrunk slightly.

Both airlines will have major roles to play in the expansion of the Malaysian market in 2023.

Tags: Malaysian air travel market,  Malaysia Airlines