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Fernandes said that for the next 12 months, AirAsia would be focusing on strengthening the group\u2019a travel and delivery businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext in the pipeline would see us venturing into express delivery, drone delivery and AirAsia money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the group\u2019s digitalisation would be an ongoing plan that would later see AirAsia expanding its services in the finance sector such as BIG Wealth to provide loans for individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) via its platform, as well as allowing people to invest in unit trusts, equities and even bitcoin.<\/p>\n
AirAsia recently acquired Malaysian online food delivery platform DeliverEat for US$9.8mil (RM41.4mil) to further strengthen the group\u2019s digital plan to cover the end-to-end logistics chain and e-commerce scene.<\/p>\n
Last month, the company announced that it had acquired Gojek\u2019s operation in Thailand for US$50mil (RM211.3mil).<\/p>\n
\u201cWatch us in this digital space,\u201d Fernandes said.<\/p>\n
When asked if AirAsia was planning to spin off its digital platform into a separate business entity, Fernandes said there would be a \u201csplit\u201d at some point as the stock market had not priced in its other businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are too focused on our airline business, but AirAsia is now a multi-business company and a very valuable data-driven technology company with a strong brand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, AirAsia launched its very own ride-hailing services dubbed AirAsia Ride as the airline industry continues to struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic and travel bans.<\/p>\n
The service is available on the AirAsia.com application.<\/p>\n
Fernandes said the group was also planning to roll out its ride-hailing service in other countries in Asean including Thailand and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are two phases of rollout with Malaysia as the first followed by the Asean rollout.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be very strong in the airports and in the tourism markets. People who like our ecosystem will begin to use us,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
AirAsia Ride CEO Lim Chiew Shan expected the ride-hailing service to be expanded to other states such as Selangor, Penang, Johor, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak by end-2021.<\/p>\n
AirAsia Ride has about 1,500 registered drivers currently, with 5,000 more to come on board in the next six months.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to recruit drivers. We are aiming to have at least 30,000 drivers going forward, in order to meet the demand that we are expecting to generate,\u201d said Lim.<\/p>\n
AirAsia Super App CEO Amanda Woo said AirAsia Ride drivers would not only focus on moving people but also moving packages and food.\u201cThere is also the potential for AirAsia Ride to integrate with Teleport, our logistics arm to complement the logistics and delivery services, tapping into the same pool of drivers for maximum efficiency and cost savings, apart from synergising with our e-commerce verticals, supplementing our existing last-mile delivery capabilities with greater capacity and reach,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Amanda said by leveraging AirAsia data that was collected in the past 20 years, AirAsia Ride is the new game-changer for the e-hailing and travel industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cAirAsia Ride not only brings you from point A to B, but we offer a complete user experience for our passengers \u2013 pre-flight, during flight and post-flight,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n