Tag: AirAsia

Manila, Philippines – Ray Berja, currently the chief finance officer of AirAsia Philippines, has been appointed as the first managing director for the airasia Super App in the Philippines. He will be leading the overall operations of the company’s local footprint – expanding its lines of business (LOBs) and driving in users.

Berja is taking on the role starting 1 March ahead of the official launch of the airasia Super App in the Philippines, which is set to happen in the third week of this month. Additional LOBs are expected to be announced during the event along with the roadmap of the Super App.

He brings in over 18 years of experience working with external audit firms and multinational companies, including ABS-CBN, Jollibee, PLDT Global, and Mynt GCash. He started his career with AirAsia three years ago as a CFO in its airline business in the Philippines.

Speaking about his appointment, he said, “Airasia, as a global leader in attainable travel and lifestyle experience, has always been an early adopter of innovations that benefit its customers. Now that we are fully geared to join the robust Super App market here in the Philippines, I am excited to lead and work with my team in establishing an integrated travel and lifestyle ecosystem for Filipinos. Frictionless connection with needs is the lifestyle of the future – and we are glad to be ushering it in here.”

He will be reporting to Amanda Woo, chief executive officer at airasia Super App.

Woo stated, “As we work towards our vision of becoming the top ASEAN Super App, we are finally making our footprint in the Philippines, and Ray will be taking the lead in managing all operations for the Super App in the country. He will be helping drive the growth of the subscriber base and growth across all lines of businesses in collaboration with our regional business group heads.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Following the recent launch of the #TimeToListen campaign video highlighting all forms of diversity, Capital A has announced that it has signed one of the campaign’s ambassadors Airliftz for a record deal that would further the diversity platform of the campaign. The deal was inked by airasia Super App’s entertainment venture RedRecords. 

‘Time To Listen’ campaign by Capital A

The 23-year old Kajang boy, Aliff Shaharom, who goes by the artist moniker Aliftz was born with a nose missing cartilage, making him instantly recognizable by his unconventional appearance. In the five-minute campaign previously released on the company’s YouTube, the young musician talked about his struggles in overcoming social prejudice and discrimination growing up.

The rapper and producer said the spunky pop-punk single ‘NOT TODAY’ draws from his own life story of obstacles and challenges, and hopes it can spark hope for change for those who are ready to listen.

“I feel so honoured to be able to share my life story for the #TimeToListen campaign and inspire others with my message. I am very grateful to be given the voice to speak and feel confident to face the world with music charting new territories with the latest record deal with RedRecords,” said Airliftz.

Content strategist at AirAsia Izal Azlee said the company felt that it was a fitting cause for the young artist to inspire and represent a generation, hence, the platform for Airliftz to speak his truth.

“We were so touched by Airliftz’s story of perseverance and determination that we handpicked him to deliver the message for our #TimeToListen campaign,” said Azlee.

Airliftz’s journey as a young, genre-fluid artist spans the better part of a decade. Since the inception of his career in 2016, Airliftz has repeatedly proven himself to naysayers and sceptics by beating the odds and achieving new heights. 

CEO of RedRecords Hassan Choudhury said, “When we first saw Airliftz, we were immediately moved by his story and blown away by his talent and the burgeoning star power, and signed him on the spot as the label’s first Malaysian artist. As a joint venture with Universal Music Group, we are very proud of what he has achieved in the music industry, especially his debut single which will soon be available on all music platforms. We truly believe it can inspire others to tell the world their unique stories.”

The ‘NOT TODAY’ single will be available on all digital platforms from 11 March, and will also have an accompanying music video premiering at 9 pm on Airliftz’s YouTube channel.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – AirAsia Group Berhad, the Malaysian-based multinational company consisting of multiple endeavours from its low-cost airline to its super-app, has announced a corporate brand refresh with a new group name: Capital A. Said rebranding reflects the groups’ new core business strategy as an investment holding company with a portfolio of synergistic travel and lifestyle businesses.

It should be recalled that the announcement of the rebrand was first made through a filing on Bursa Malaysia, the stock exchange in Malaysia, on 28 December 2021.

For Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, now Capital A, the rebrand is not just about unveiling a new logo and name but rather celebrating a significant milestone that marks a new era for the Group. He also added that the announcement reinforces that they are no longer just an airline anymore.

“While the airline will always underpin the AirAsia brand, it has long been my firm intention, well before COVID hit, to leverage the strong data we have built up over 20 years and incorporate industry-leading new technologies to offer a broad range of products and services, over and above selling just airfares. The pandemic has allowed us to accelerate that strategy,” Fernandes said.

He also added that the group has continuously evolved based on driving innovation and meeting ever-changing consumer demand, stating that the strategy behind the change of name is to introduce a new corporate identity that better reflects the Group’s core businesses today and its future undertakings, in tandem with our rapid transformation from an airline into a one-stop digital travel and lifestyle services group. 

Fernandes believes that the new company name will also further enhance the marketability of their products and boost the success of the Group for the long haul.

“Essentially Capital A is an investment company with a broad portfolio of businesses which all deliver the best value at the lowest cost, supported by strong data built up over two decades. We also have one of Asia’s leading brands to ride on, a strong people-first culture and an underlying promise of remaining committed to serving the underserved in all that we do. Just like what the airline has done from day one, all of our different lines of business will deliver the same strategy that is underscored by doing what we do best – making travel and everyday lifestyle services affordable, accessible and inclusive to all,” Fernandes explained.

In regards to the group’s airline service, Fernandes clarified that the airline won’t be changing its name, stating that it is one of the strongest brands in Asia and provides a solid platform for all of their other products and services to leverage from each other.

“Even though the last two years have been the most difficult and disrupted years in the history of commercial aviation, I welcome the year ahead with much greater confidence. Domestic air travel has already started to rebound in our key markets. While there may be some delays for international flights to return to pre-Covid levels due to the Omicron variant, I believe this will be short-lived as many global health experts are also predicting, alongside accelerated vaccines and booster shots as well as the world gradually learning to live with COVID,” he added.

Capital A aims to hit multiple visions by 2026, which includes its airlines connecting over 1 billion people in ASEAN, its airasia Super App being the super app of choice in ASEAN, 10 million monthly active users for their digital bank BigPay, 5 million sign ups for its edutech arm AirAsia Academy, and over 21 million monthly orders on airasia grocer, its online grocery service.

The company has long expanded its portfolio of companies and projects, from its venture to e-commerce, ride-hailing, and digital banking, towards lifestyle endeavors such as its super app, a record collaboration called Red Records, and its VTuber agency project, Project Kavvaii.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – BIG Rewards, AirAsia’s lifestyle rewards program, will now be integrated into the airasia Super App family; to now be called airasia rewards. It would be recalled that the rewards program even underwent a rebranding at the start of 2020, coming from previous name, ‘BIGLIFE’.

The brand new move will merge all features from the previous BIG Rewards app to be available within the airasia Super App. Users can now expect a more seamless app experience, now eliminating the need to have two separate apps for earning and spending their reward points.

With the new integration, all user details and remaining points will be merged into the Super App and be renamed as airasia points. The loyalty rewards points will now be the digital loyalty currency that can be used throughout the entire Super App ecosystem. 

Amanda Woo, CEO of airasia Super App, said that the airasia Super App has now become a way of life, and its enhancement is in line with the airline’s core value of providing value and best deals to flight passengers and everyday app users.

“We are proud to see a phenomenal growth of airasia Super App in recent years since its launch in October 2020. With our digital businesses that include nearly 20 travel, delivery, and lifestyle offerings, we have successfully transformed into a data and tech-driven company, even being recognized as one of the three ASEAN Unicorns based in Malaysia by a Credit Suisse report,” said Woo.

She adds, “[It’s] not just for users; the addition of airasia rewards will spark new and exciting collaboration opportunities with our flight and hotel partners, merchants, and even riders. In return, our app users will benefit greatly from better deals and different ways to redeem their airasia points.”

Ong Wai Fong, chief loyalty officer, shared that the app integration has 3-pronged benefits for members, partners, and businesses. 

“Members will be able to enjoy more deals and promos in the Super App, while conveniently earning airasia points for every transaction and using points to pay for their orders. Partners, on the other hand, will have wider access to the millions of Super App users to boost sales and grow their businesses with us. These in return will enhance our data and help us design better products to increase member stickiness and transform it into enduring customer loyalty,” shared Ong Wai Fong.

To celebrate the integration, from 16 to 20 December 2021, airasia rewards is giving app users up to 20X airasia points for every purchase they make on the airasia Super App. App users who book or purchase flights, hotels, SNAP, food, grocery, and duty-free items using their airasia points will be able to enjoy a special redemption promotion of 50 points to RM1, whose normal rate is 125 points to RM1, during the promo period as well. 

Manila, Philippines – Top player in the Asian travel industry, AirAsia, in the Philippines, has released a new content series for the web, just in time as the region gradually opens up for travel. 

Interestingly, the airline has tapped into the influencer culture, roping in its very own First Officer Rod de Lara and Senior Cabin Crew Bien Geronimo to host the said web series. The series is titled ‘airasia Thrills’ and will be taking viewers to captivating landscapes and uncharted territories as hosts set foot in local destinations such as Zamboanga, Bohol, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao and General Santos.

The series also aims to boost viewers’ excitement and adrenaline as the show will feature extreme activities such as Vinta racing, cross-country motorbiking, scuba diving, and free diving, among others. 

De Lara and Geronimo who are both avid triathletes will be testing their limits on the show, taking on different challenges related to the different destinations.

Steve Dailisan, AirAsia Philippines spokesperson, said, “Now that COVID-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and some provinces have gone down, we are sure that most Filipinos are eager to travel but don’t know where to start. airasia Thrills will give them a sneak peek of what to do and where to go. We hope that AirAsia Thrills will not only thrill them, but fire their enthusiasm in completing their bucket list.”

Dailisan adds, “We believe that traveling is good for our mental health, and rediscovery of activities, food, and places will complete your thirst for traveling in the new normal. And for those still staying at home, we got you covered as airasia Thrills will take you virtually to different tourist destinations in the Philippines.”

The series has already started 1 October and will run until January 2022. The series can be viewed on its Facebook page ‘airasia Super App’ and its Youtube channel of the same name. 

At the end of the season, lucky viewers can get a chance to win tickets and other exciting prizes from AirAsia partners Samsung, The North Face Philippines, Grind, ROX, and Monster Energy Drink.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Multinational low-cost airline and superapp airasia, with the aid of their recent VTuber agency Project Kavvaii, and online art community Pixiv have joined forces in officially kicking off a fan art contest dedicated to Project Kavvaii’s first-ever VTuber Aozora Kurumi.

Said contest kicked off last 9 September and will conclude by 24 October this year.

The fan art contest was previously announced by airasia during Aozora Kurumi’s media announcement last May of this year, which was also her debut month, in which she was introduced last 8 May.

Top winners of the said contest will receive a variety of prizes from airasia and Pixiv, including Wacom drawing tablets; hotel accommodations for use in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, as well as CabinZero backpacks. The other consecutive winners will receive 20,000 BIG points from airasia, which is from BIGLIFE, airasia’s loyalty management subsidiary.

Speaking to MARKETECH APAC, Izal Azlee, senior manager for content strategy at airasia, said the four months that they have shared with their first-ever virtual idol was at first unexpected, but they have totally loved it, adding the reason of how together and tight knit the community is, from fellow VTubers in the online community, to other VTuber agencies, as well all the way to the fans and viewers themselves.

“Doing what we do in airasia, we are in total awe of the community. We as a company have always aimed to embrace the various communities across the region and we are just getting started with the VTubing community. And the best part about this whole thing is how much we (the talent and agency) are learning a lot of things together on this journey. The fact that it’s collaborative makes it all that more exciting,” Azlee stated.

For the team at Project Kavvaii, the contest is not about making it resonate with the brand but rather showing their gratitude and appreciation to Kurumi’s fanbase that have welcomed not only their talent but them as an agency as well four months ago.

“We just want to show our appreciation and hopefully we can continue on this journey for a long long time. Ultimately, our bigger goal is to bring the creativity in the region into the spotlight. This is one of the small ways we can achieve that,” Azlee added.

Such positive relationship of fans and the brand themselves, according to Azlee, is best observed when looking at the gradual reception of these communities to the brand in focus.

“For brands, we would say learn about the community first to see what it’s all about and understand what this would mean, not just to the brand but to the community. It isn’t a walk in the park, so there’s a lot of learning. From our experience the best way to excel here is to listen to the community and VTubers,” he concluded.

Aozora Kurumi, who speaks multiple languages namely English, Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese, Korean as well as some Bahasa Malaysia and Japanese, now currently holds 11.8k subscribers on her official YouTube channel as of this writing, and has made multiple collaborations within the VTuber space, with the larger majority concentrated in the Southeast Asian region like Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Manila, Philippines – Allenie Caccam, the head of marketing of AirAsia in the Philippines, is adding podcast hosting to her list of credentials. Caccam just launched her own podcast ‘The Middle Manager Show’ which tackles real-life challenges of being a middle manager.

“Before we become CEOs, we are middle managers after all,” said the podcast’s ‘About’ on Spotify. 

The show is already three episodes in, with the pilot podcast launching on 23 August. For its latest episode, Caccam conversed with top corporate consultant in the Philippines and Apprentice Asia winner, Jonathan Yabut. 

When asked why focus on management instead of marketing in the podcast, Caccam shared to MARKETECH APAC, “There are tons of books and articles that talk about marketing, but there’s not a lot on middle management. While training my team [at AirAsia], especially those who just got promoted to manager, I realized there are certain skills that I thought were natural, but apparently were not and when I dug deeper, I realized managing in the middle is more complex than it looks.” 

Admittedly an introvert, Caccam shared that more than the medium appealing to her natural strength as a person, she chose podcast because she believes a podcast is able to create the environment “where you are listening to a friend speaking over the phone,” and that in that way, it seems more personal and intimate.

Caccam adds, “I want to create that space where the show sounds like your usual pantry session where you exchange [pieces of] advice with your workmates.” 

Caccam entered AirAsia in 2014, and prior to landing her marketing head role in the airline, she assumed the position marketing manager and senior manager for international marketing.

She shared that topics she discusses in the podcast are actually topics she has already touched base with her team in AirAsia first. 

“They are willing guinea pigs and I am so grateful to them. Because we have a direct relationship, aside from the topics discussed in the show, I do have one-on-ones with them so the mentoring is still personalized,” shared Caccam.

Each episode of the podcast is less than 30 minutes in order to, Caccam said, cater to the fast-paced schedule of managers. The topics are picked based on information gathered from an initial survey of new managers, and those who are already head of departments which range from discussing the basics of the middle manager’s dilemma to navigating the first six months as a new manager. 

According to Caccam, the show would probably be less than 20 episodes for the first season, but the idea is that topics will also mature with the audience with the assumption that they are also growing in their role.

“Possibly the topics can tackle more complicated [or] complex situations in the future! Right now, it’s testing the market. It’s a new podcast, barely a month in, but what I really love is it has an average of 80% retention, so those who are listening are really interested!” shared Caccam.

In January this year, MARKETECH APAC sat down for a virtual interview with Caccam on MARKETECH Mondays to get to know her career journey in marketing. 

In the interview, she shared her philosophy in leadership, “I always make it a point to be more self-aware [because of that perspective]. For example, if your team is not doing well, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not good, but also because maybe, it’s your style of leading them, and maybe there’s something more that you need to do from your end so they could do better.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – BigPay, the digital portfolio and fintech company under AirAsia, has announced that it has finalized its funding, now amounting to US$100m, which entails the company to push through its vision of becoming a ‘challenger bank’ in the growing banking ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

Said funding was led by SK Group, one of the leading conglomerate groups, headquartered in South Korea.

Founded in 2017, the company, which is present in both Malaysia and Singapore at the moment, offers a prepaid debit card which can be used to spend anywhere Visa or Mastercard is accepted, local and international money transfers, micro-insurance, bill payments and a budgeting tool. BigPay has launched as well a series of products for its users focused on long-term financial health and accessibility.

According to Salim Dhanani, co-founder and CEO at BigPay, said funding speaks to the company’s vision to expand their product sets, along with growing the model to new markets. He added that they target to expand to Thailand and the wider ASEAN market, but for now, they will focus first in launching key products: fully digital personal loans, transactional lending and an offering for MSMEs.

“Our ethos has always been clear. We want to launch financial products that are not only simple and convenient but transparent and accessible to everyone. We are ready to embark on the next stage of our journey with SK Group and we will continue to provide fair financial services to communities across Southeast Asia,” says Salim.

The funding from one of South Korea’s largest conglomerates and tech innovator further strengthens AirAsia’s digital endeavor as it accelerates the scope of growth for its digital businesses, including logistics and financial services.

“We are happy to be joining forces with BigPay as we’ve had a keen interest in fintech and digital banking for a long time. SK Group will be able to make a significant contribution to BigPay in both technical and consumer service aspects given our experience and resources,” said Jung Kyu Kim, chief representative at SK Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Tony Fernandes, CEO at AirAsia Group, commented, “I am excited for this great partnership with SK Group and for their belief in BigPay’s mission to bring inclusivity to financial services. This is the first investment into one of our portfolio digital companies and a testament to our digital growth story – we don’t anticipate it being the last.”

He added, “SK Group is second to none when it comes to innovation and experience, so we truly believe they can share their expertise and know-how so that this investment can mark the beginning of a new exciting digital banking era.”

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – As the pandemic amplifies digital adoption, companies from different industries have been developing their online content and embracing digital trends.

On airline airasia’s side, it has started efforts bolstering online content, where in last March, it launched ‘Project Kavvai’, a program that seeks to discover and develop the next big virtual idol to be showcased as a streaming digital avatar content creator in ASEAN.

After a long wait, airasia has finally announced its first virtual idol named Aozora Kurumi and is set to debut on 8 May 2021, which will be live-streamed on YouTube at 8:00 pm MYT.

Clad in a Victorian-style outfit with her trusted pet Jetson, Kurumi is designed by a renowned illustrator artist in the virtual idol community, Yueko. She was brought to life by industry veteran Iron Vertex, with vocals provided by a talent chosen from the ‘Project Kavvaii’ open audition. Kurumi will be responsible for generating exciting online content in gaming and lifestyle categories with live broadcasts while participating in engaging online and offline activities in the near future. 

According to airasia, the airline will also be working with pixiv, the top online community for artists in Japan and across the world, to produce an exclusive fan art contest for Kurumi in September, and a dedicated pixiv channel on airasia wifi that showcases exclusive content from the pixivision platform.

Rudy Khaw, the chief brand officer of airasia Group, said that they are proud to introduce the first virtual idol, which they foresee will be a game-changer in the future of streaming content in ASEAN. 

“As a digital company, the constant change in the way people consume online content drives us to explore cross-industry innovations with Project Kavvaii to stay relevant and ahead of trends. We are also very excited to have pixiv onboard this journey which would bring us closer to the community and hope to see Aozora Kurumi taking the content world by storm very soon,” added Khaw.

For more updates on Kurumi, fans may follow her on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as Facebook.

Penang, Malaysia – Airasia’s food delivery platform airasia food has announced its market expansion in Penang – Malaysia’s food capital – and is now calling on Food and Beverage (F&B) operators across Penang island to join the platform.

Airasia food was first launched in Klang Valley, Malaysia. It aims to disrupt the food delivery scene by offering a seamless solution for merchants at an affordable and business-friendly commission rate. 

F&B operators in Penang who are interested in joining airasia food will only need to fill up a form, and they will be contacted within 48 hours by the airasia food team. Once set to onboard, merchants will be able to receive support from a dedicated account manager who will assist in bringing the F&B business online, provide system support on data analytics, and monitoring. Merchants can also leverage airasia’s extensive marketing effort and periodic campaigns to drive publicity and sales.

The platform is supported by airasia’s ecosystem where BIG Members can earn and pay with their BIG Points. Consumers can also get the lowest delivery fees with no hidden charges or minimum order fees.

Ben-Jie Lim, the head of e-commerce at airasia Super App, said that there is no doubt that Penang is a foodie’s dream come true, being a place that boasts an abundance of local flavors, as well as world-class cuisines.

“Airasia food offers the lowest commission rate in town at only 15%, enabling merchants to earn more while having full control over their menu, pricing, and easy access to data aside from being able to communicate directly with their customers. We welcome all F&B operators to register with us and look forward to serving the foodies of Penang with delicacies from their favorite hawker stalls and F&B outlets,” added Lim.

Airasia food has also expanded in Singapore earlier this year, offering an online solution for Singaporean merchants in maintaining their F&B business, and at the same time offering a new alternative for consumers in the country.