Air Asia plans to generate half of all revenue from non-flying sources by 2024, Airasia.com CEO Karen Chan told a CAPA – Centre for Aviation audience. The region’s largest budget carrier is counting on its digital lifestyle platform, Airasia.com, to drive this growth.
In October, Air Asia unveiled a new brand identity for Airasia.com, positioning it as “ASEAN’s super app” with more than 15 types of products and services spanning travel, e-commerce, and fintech in Southeast Asia.
Chan said that by offering the services akin to an online travel agency, Airasia.com would be able to bundle experiences on top of flights, such as hotel stays and other lifestyle products, according to Simple Flying.
Airasia.com also plans to grow its partnerships with several Middle Eastern and European carriers, allowing travellers to book these flights directly through its platform.
“Apart from just selling Air Asia flight tickets, we are now selling any airline’s flight tickets. We are now in serious discussions with quite a few full service carriers,” said Chan, according to Reuters.
Earlier last year, Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes said the carrier transformed from a digital airline into a lifestyle brand “for everyone”.
“We have not wasted the crisis, in fact we’ve been using the lockdown period to finetune our platform, unify the user experience, and simplify our payment to a one-click check out,” said Fernandes.
“Just like how we built Air Asia as a brand, Airasia.com will emerge as the ASEAN super app, your best travel and lifestyle companion.”
The announcement comes as the financially troubled carrier seeks court approval to restructure, which could lead to a shrunken fleet and route network.
