The Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and to keep track of developments in these sectors as businesses adapt and reset to meet challenges in the era of coronavirus.
airasia.com unveils new identity in race to be “Asean super app”
AirAsia’s one-stop travel, e-commerce and fintech platform, airasia.com, last week revealed its brand new identity online “as Asean’s super app” that provides a simpler, faster and more convenient experience for its users.
The budget carrier said the launch completes its transformation “from a digital airline into a comprehensive lifestyle platform for everyone,” in addition to marking its entry into a “new era”.
In August during an interview with British broadcaster BBC, Group CEO Tony Fernandes said the AirAsia was developing a super app that would also offer a messaging service which, he hoped, could compete against Singapore-based Grab, Indonesia’s Gojek and China’s Meituan.
Well, it looks like airasia.com has a good start with its 75 million users (from 40 million downloads, according to AirAsia), as well as the airline’s database of over 60 million customers.
Users of the super app can access 15 types of products and services under what the group terms as “three main pillars” – travel, e-commerce and fintech. Customers can pay with BIG Points (earned from AirAsia’s BIG loyalty programme) across its range of products through a one-click checkout.”
Fernandes said they now can fly, stay, shop, eat “all at the convenience of one super app”.
Although the airline group has not been spared the crippling effects of the pandemic that saw part of its fleet grounded and laying off 10% of its 24,000 employees, it has 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 checkout. We have accelerated our digital business and expanded airasia.com’s product offering from travel to everyday life,” Fernandes disclosed.
“Just like how we built AirAsia as a brand, airasia.com will emerge as the Asean super app, your best travel and lifestyle companion.”
Meanwhile, airasia.com CEO Karen Chan said the super app’s launch “is a testimony of airasia’s continuous innovation culture and our drive to deliver value to our customers.”
She stated that airasia.com is more than just connecting people to destinations, “It’s about connecting people to people, creating communities among like-minded travellers, sharing best-eats tips and fostering social-based commerce.”
• Here’s a video of the super app
Malaysia Aviation Group introduces retraining programme for employees to meet post-pandemic challenges
The Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) has initiated an upskilling and reskilling programme for its employees to transform them into “future workforce adaptable to new challenges and ready for what lies ahead in the post-Covid world.”
Called MH EDGILE the programme is opened to more than 2,000 employees, mainly pilot, cabin crew and other frontliners affected by the airline’s current reduced network and operational capacity.
MAG is involved in air transportation services, ground services, aircraft leasing and talent development. Among its business units are national carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), community airline Firefly and MASwings, regional airline operating the Rural Air Services (RAS) in Sabah and Sarawak.
The company said the new programme trains its employees for other job competencies, either in specialised competency such as facilities management and audit, or general and trainable areas such as sales and IT helpdesk.
Through MH EDGILE employees can lend their expertise and services to support the airline’s long-term business sustainability of the company, as well as explore avenues to grow and develop their potential.
“Subject to approval, these group of employees will be temporarily re-assigned to support other departments that require workforce for critical roles or job functions resulting from the constrained workforce due to added deliverables and attrition,” said MAG.
This initiative is offered voluntarily and subjects to job pre-requisites and selection criteria of the receiving department, it added. All assignments will be on a full-time basis, and employees will still be allowed to maintain their job license validity.
The period of the interim assignment will be dependent on the company’s business and operational requirements. Employees with the approved application will be equipped with the knowledge and new skill sets through coaching and training to prepare for the new role.
Group chief executive officer of MAG, Captain Izham Ismail, said as the pandemic is still showing no signs of ending any time soon and with fleet grounded, “it is important for us to prepare our workforce with new skill sets to become more efficient in their current roles or shift into emerging positions as well as to support the business goals. This is the perfect time for the staff to reinvent themselves.”
Absolute Hotel Services, The Delivering Group team up to expand scope of services
Hotel management contract specialist, Absolute Hotel Services (AHS), has signed a global partnership with Asian hospitality and tourism marketing development company, The Delivering Group, to expand its hotel and resort management business in Asia Pacific, Greater China and North America.
AHS, founded by Jonathan Wigley (also its CEO), is headquartered in Bangkok with regional offices in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong, India and Europe. It has more than 100 hotels in its portfolio, including Eastin Grand Hotels and Resorts and U Hotels and Resorts.
“We see strong growth in the mid to upper mid-scale hotel and resorts range through a combination of new builds, especially in mixed use developments, and residential projects looking to move to managed accommodation,” Wigley said, with the two partners tapping into these opportunities.
The Delivering Group, founded by travel and hospitality industry veterans Mark Simmons, Michael Yates and Joe Cauchi, partners with hotels/resorts, airlines, destinations, cruise operators, TMCs and other travel and tourism players in Asia Pacific to develop post-pandemic recovery strategies and re-energise their business.
Its co-founder Mark Simmons said the collaboration with AHS is another offering to its portfolio of services to owners and operators and “immediate synergies between our respective strategies and business plans.”
The latest tie-up is the third major partnership for The Delivering Group. In August it formed a partnership with European-based HiJiffy that specialises in AI-powered hotel chatbots, and last month it formed an alliance with hotel marketing consultancy Cube that focuses on hotel revenue management and distribution.
Fellow co-founder Yates said the company would continue to look for opportunities with like-minded partners to tailor make recovery plans and business development strategies using its proprietary platform, Good to Go.
Travala.com adds tours and activities to portfolio in partnership with Viator
Blockchain-based travel booking platform Travala.com has formed a “strategic partnership” with TripAdvisor’s Viator.
With this partnership Travala.com’s users are able to take advantage of the integration with Viator, which has an extensive listing of tours and activities, to book any of the experiences.
Travala.com, backed by industry cryptocurrency exchange company Binance, enables users to book hotels, homes, flights, and now tours and activities using more than 30 different cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin , Ethereum and AVA, the platform’s native cryptocurrency, in addition to traditional payment methods.
Juan Otero, Travala.com CEO, said the partnership makes the travel platform “one of the largest OTAs in the world in terms of the number of travel products available, which now includes a range of unique travel experiences.”
According to Travala.com, it offers more than 400,000 bookable activities and has “over three million travel products in 230 countries and territories covering 90,124 destinations.”
Since its inception in 2017 Travala.com said it has formed partnerships with travel companies including Booking.com, Expedia and Agoda to offer a one-stop-shop solution for its users, while also facilitating more ways for consumers to book travel with cryptocurrencies.
It added that as a crypto-native startup it is in “a strong position to provide value add” to the burgeoning OTA market, which is expected to to generate more than US$1 trillion in revenue by 2023 according to a 2019 report from Market Research Future.
• Featured image credit: airasia.com
