All SET-listed airlines took a hit from Thailand's political turmoil, racking up losses in the second quarter.
Ailing national flag carrier Thai Airways International Plc (THAI) was the biggest loser among all at 7.66 billion baht for the April-June period.
Budget carriers Nok Airlines Plc and Asia Aviation Plc (AAV), the latter the major stakeholder in Thai AirAsia, posted losses of 159 million and 176 million baht, respectively.
The trio singled out the months of street protests that helped lead to the ouster of prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra on May 22 for curtailing passenger traffic.
They also blamed fierce competition among full-service and discount airlines for causing the downturn in their second-quarter performances.
In its filing to the bourse, THAI cited a drop in foreign arrivals at Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports of 22.6% year-on-year in the second quarter.
THAI's second-quarter negative result raised its combined losses for the first half of this year to 10.3 billion baht. But the second-quarter loss was smaller than the 8.43 billion baht recorded in the same period last year.
A foreign exchange gain of 1 billion baht in the second quarter cushioned some losses at THAI.
The airline reported foreign exchange losses of 4.2 billion baht with impairment of assets involving Airbus A300-600 jets amounting to 1.21 billion added to losses in the second quarter of last year.
THAI's revenue in this year's second quarter fell by 9.2% to 42.8 billion baht due to the heavy drop in passenger numbers and excess-baggage revenue.
The second quarter marked a reversal of fortune for Nok Air and AAV, which in the same period last year posted net profits of 260 million and 264 million baht, respectively.
This came even though both posted higher revenue in this year's period — up by 2% to 5.46 billion baht for AAV and 8.1% to 2.83 million for Nok Air.
AAV's Thai AirAsia increased passenger volume by 16% to 2.8 million and Nok Air 23.4% to 1.72 million. But both filled fewer available seats, which increased due to additional capacity, frequencies and routes.
Thai AirAsia's second-quarter passenger load factor declined to 78% from 82% in the same period last year and Nok Air's to 77.7% from 86.5%.