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At the corporate level, we are undergoing
an internal reorganisation that will bring
together all our operations under one
grouping. Shareholders have already
approved the move to transfer AirAsia
Berhad’s listing status to AirAsia Group
Berhad (AAGB) at an extraordinary general
meeting (EGM) on 8 January 2018. AAGB
would effectively provide the foundation
for One AirAsia, clearing the path for the
creation of greater synergies across all our
country operations as well as for further
consolidation of our financial reporting.
The new group structure includes
segregation of our air transportation
businesses from our digital and support
businesses, enabling all three pillars to
grow with enhanced clarity and focus.
Strengthened by our ongoing digital
transformation, the various digital
businesses we currently have – such
as BIG Loyalty, ROKKI, Touristly and
BigPay – will be able to expand into major
technology players in their own right in
addition to supporting the AirAsia airline
To meet this demand, AirAsia Group is
gearing up to expand our narrow-body
fleet to 500 aircraft over the next 10
years, which entails adding approximately
28 to 30 new aircraft every year. For
the year 2018 itself, we have exactly 30
aircraft waiting in the wings – seven each
for Malaysia, Thailand and India, six for
the Philippines, and three for Indonesia.
This includes six grounded aircraft that
were delivered at the end of 2017 for
reallocation in 2018.
The additional aircraft will serve as an
impetus for further network expansion of
all our airline operations. The year 2018
is certainly looking bright for all of them,
and especially AirAsia India which hopes
to launch international flights. This year,
as its fleet size increases to 21, it will
meet the government’s requirement for
airlines operating international routes to
have at least 20 aircraft serving domestic
routes. We will also be submitting the
documentation required to kick-start our
listing process for AirAsia Philippines.
business. Together, these ventures create
an attractive digital travel and lifestyle
ecosystem that will have strong appeal in
the markets that we serve. One area we
have not devoted sufficient attention to in
the past, and which we intend to develop
more fully, is e-commerce. With the
expertise of SATS, our partner in ground
handling, we are in a stronger position now
to grow Red Cargo (our courier service)
and start Red Box (our logistics and door-
to-door delivery business). We have also
appointed the former CEO of Pos Malaysia
to lead this growth.
AirAsia is definitely at a very exciting
juncture in our onward journey. There are
many changes in the offing that hold the
promise of a better, brighter future. As we
go boldly into this future, however, we
will not forget the basics, and especially
the people we fly. While we have always
served our guests to the best of our
ability – and have even won awards for
this – we believe we can do more. As of
2018, we will intensify our focus on our
guests’ happiness by really listening to
their feedback and mining our data for
enhanced service. We do not want to be
just an affordable way to fly, but a great
way to fly.
For this, we will also need the support of
our Allstars. Our Allstars have exceeded
our expectations all these years. And we
know they will continue to deliver. On
behalf of the management, we would like
to say a heartfelt thank you to the team
for always being there for us, giving us
their all. They have inspired us by daring
to dream and given us the privilege of
helping make their dreams come true. With
them, we would like to do the same for the
millions of others who look to AirAsia when
they dream of flying.
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AirAsia Group Berhad
PERSPECTIVE
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