AirAsia Suffers Same Fate as Malaysia Airlines, Shares Plummet 13%

Members of the Search and Rescue Agency SARS carry debris recovered from the sea presumed from missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8501 at Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, December 30, 2014 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. REUTERS/Antara Foto/Kenarel (INDONESIA - Tags: TRANSPORT DISASTER TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Even before Indonesian officials confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crashed and is on the ocean floor, the embattled air carrier's share had plummeted 13 percent on new of its disappearance on Sunday.

Shareprices of AirAsia Bhd (AIRA) opened on Monday morning at 2.60 ringgit but slid down in the afternoon by 7.82 percent after reports came out that the aircraft with 162 people aboard was missing.

As of Monday, when the question was hanging if the plane was safe or had crashed, bookings were still solid, there was no seat discounting and passengers weren't changing carriers in large numbers, a travel agent said, reports News.com.au.

But shareholders had begun to dump their shares in early trading.

With Tuesday's confirmation that QZ8501 indeed crashed and all 162 on board died, the travel agent said it would likely suffer the same fate as Malaysia Airlines which is shunned by travelers because in a span of four months it lost two planes with more than 500 people aboard, combined.

But many analysts believe that in the case of AirAsia, because of the company's solid business model, investor confidence would eventually return. They pointed to the airline's appeal to the mass market and more people in the region affording air travel as the reasons.

However, with the tragedy hanging over the airline, chances are the air carrier would offer discounted fares in the meantime, some analysts said.