AirAsia eyes becoming largest food delivery, ride-hailing firm in Asia

Chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (file pic) said he was confident that the AirAsia food and super app could become one of the biggest food delivery as well as ride-hailing companies and online travel agencies in Asia.

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Group aims to become Asia’s largest food delivery and ride-hailing company, besides just offering flights in the region, following the successful acquisition of local online food delivery platform, Delivereat, recently.

Chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said he was confident that the AirAsia food and super app could become one of the biggest food delivery as well as ride-hailing companies and online travel agencies in Asia.

“When (I started) AirAsia, I always wondered if we can become the biggest airline, and we did. We are the fourth biggest airline in Asia. We started with only two planes, 200,000 passengers, and now we have grown to 90 million passengers.

“So I sit back and think can we become the biggest food delivery company and ride-hailing company?

“Today, I officially say, I think we can...I think we’d go out there and (outgrow) existing competitors the same way we outgrew other airlines,” he told a press conference in George Town, Penang yesterday.

Fernandes said he was looking forward to expanding the app’s full services to Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines in the near future.

Earlier, Fernandes also announced the appointment of Delivereat founder Tan Suan Sear as AirAsia Super App’s group head of AirAsia Food and Leong Shir Mein as head of On-Demand for AirAsia’s delivery arm, Teleport.

He said the group was truly excited about the partnership as it supported the company’s strategy to continue serving the underserved and become the best value delivery company in Asean.

Fernandes also said that he was impressed with Delivereat, a local delivery company that is able to stand on its own, maintaining sustainability in the company operations and offers business and employment platform to the community.

Last August, AirAsia’s digital logistics venture Teleport signed an agreement to acquire a 100% equity interest in Delivereat for US$9.8mil (RM40.93mil) to strengthen its delivery service in the country. — Bernama