AS airasia’s rapid transformation into a digital travel and lifestyle group continues to gain strong momentum, the group’s engineering arm Asia Digital Engineering (ADE), ground handling division Ground Team Red (GTR) and logistics venture Teleport are set to soar to new heights, leveraging the new technology revolution through digitisation and data.
AirAsia Group Bhd president Aireen Omar who oversees digital operations said embracing the digital revolution and driving innovation is a core focus across the entire airasia portfolio of companies.
“We’re a group that continues to evolve based on consumer demand. A silver lining of COVID-19 has caused a huge surge in demand for cargo and online shopping deliveries and this is driving many new business opportunities and revenue streams,” she pointed out.
“As a brand that has always had innovation in its DNA, we see huge potential, not only in our super app and fintech solutions but also in our logistics, aircraft maintenance and ground services divisions.”
Below are progress in digitalisation of airasia’s business portfolio:
Asia Digital Engineering (ADE)
ADE performed and completed Teleport’s first A320 cargo plane conversion earlier this year and expects more aircraft modifications of passenger to cargo aircraft in the future as regional demand for delivery continues to soar.
The maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) business division has been conducting base maintenance checks since June and has completed its first WiFi installation on an AirAsia aircraft.
Wireless connectivity will be rolled out progressively across the fleet in the near future as AirAsia and airlines worldwide move towards delivering fully digital inflight experiences.
The Southeast Asia MRO market alone was valued at over US$4 bil in 2020 and the industry is expected to rebound very fast when things return to the new normal.
Teleport
Launched in 2018, Teleport has recently re-focused its strategy with the introduction of cargo only flights. Two modified former A320 passenger jets and a dedicated freighter aircraft will serve to bolster Teleport’s ability to meet the region’s rapidly increasing demand for deliveries.
With direct access to the unrivalled AirAsia Group network in Southeast Asia, best in class technology and a commitment to enabling last mile, door-to-door commerce anywhere in ASEAN within 24 hours, Teleport has put in place the right foundations to truly disrupt the cargo industry in Asean.
Furthermore, Teleport’s partnership with Freightchain, the world’s first digital air cargo network running on blockchain, is a game changer for Teleport and the industry, making the online booking process as easy as buying a flight ticket on AirAsia.
Global Team Red (GTR)
To feed into AirAsia’s logistics and distribution ecosystem, GTR has embraced digitisation initiatives across the process pipeline to enhance air cargo movements, communication exchanges and logistics processes in and between its KLIA Cargo Terminal and AirAsia’s aircraft.
Similar to airasia’s super app ambitions alongside ADE and Teleport, GTR aims to be the ground handling services provider of choice in ASEAN.
With the easing of movement restrictions and return of air travel globally, GTR is anticipating more business collaborations with foreign airlines in major airports across Malaysia, further delivering service excellence and superior ASEAN hospitality to its business partners and travelling guests. – Sept 22, 2021
