SINGAPORE: Benefiting from a strong rebound in travel and the easing of pandemic-related restrictions in Southeast Asia, the parent company of Malaysian budget airline AirAsia reported a narrower third-quarter operating loss this week.

Capital A Berhad also predicted stronger air passenger traffic in the next quarter and forecast a positive outlook for the upcoming years based on strong sales and easing of travel restrictions.

For the three months ending on 30th September, AirAsia posted an operating loss of 563.9 million ringgit ($127.00 million) compared to a loss of 893 million ringgit in the same period one year ago.

It also reported a sharp 563 percent increase in revenue to 1.96 billion ringgit from last year's 295.9 million ringgit.

Capital A Berhad previously announced that it carried 9.9 million passengers in the third quarter, a 2,200 percent increase from one year ago.

In a filing, the company reported, "The group is taking all measures possible to return the grounded fleet back into service, with a projection of 140 operational aircraft by the end of this year, and full operations by second quarter of 2023."

Meanwhile, CEO Tony Fernandes said as part of a corporate restructuring designed to shed its status as a financially-distressed firm, the company also plans to combine its AirAsia budget airline business with its long-haul offshoot AirAsia X.