AirAsia seems to be on a partnership-forming spree. Close on the heels of tying up with Chinese travel giant Trip.com Group to reignite travel in South-east Asia (SE Asia) it has inked another “strategic partnership”, this time with digital travel platform Agoda.
Through this partnership AirAsia.com, the low cost carriers’ travel and lifestyle e-commerce platform, and Agoda will share flight and hotel inventories giving travellers “a more extensive multi-product selection. Over 600,000 Agoda properties will be added to the inventory on AirAsia.com.
To stimulate travel activity in the region the collaboration includes travel bundles, membership privileges as well as joint product marketing.
Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Group chief executive officer, said travellers can now enjoy “a more seamless ‘browse-to-buy’ experience” on Airasia.com as they can book their flights and hotels through SNAP, its flight + hotel combo booking platform introduced in December last year.
The airline is also working with various Malaysian hotels through SNAP in a bid to revive the country’s domestic tourism sector.
The partnership with Agoda was part of the airline group-wide strategy to revitalise travel, as it anticipated the reopening of borders in SE Asia in the near future, added Fernandes.
“We are taking the opportunity during this downtime to work innovatively with strategic partners like Agoda, so we can better serve our guests’ travel and lifestyle needs.”
Fernandes said more strategic ventures are in development, which it would announce “when the time is right.”
This latest collaboration is also part of the low cost carrier group’s ongoing strategy to transform from an airline company into a leading travel and lifestyle player, as well as financial platform in Asia Pacific.
Agoda CEO John Brown noted that despite the current pandemic the public’s appetite for travel is still strong.
He believes its cooperation with AirAsia will take the hassle out of travel by helping travellers to easily find great value deals as they venture out again.
“Equally important is the wider impact of this initiative between two of South-east Asia’s well-known and highly regarded travel brands, on the confidence of accommodation partners, hospitality providers and related aviation industry players,” he said.
“It’s imperative we work innovatively with our partners to find solutions and do our part to stimulate demand and help the wider travel and tourism industry.”
