Can AirAsia’s super-app ambitions take off?

Whether it’s ecommerce, digital payments, travel, or online media, you name it, AirAsia’s in it.

While the airline very much remains its core business, the AirAsia Group’s 17 business lines, ranging from fintech to e-commerce and food delivery, speak to its sprawling “super app” ambitions.

“We want to be the one-stop-shop portal to satisfy all consumer needs…You can fly, stay, shop, eat, chat – all from the convenience of one app,” Karen Chan, CEO of AirAsia.com, said at Tech in Asia’s Product Development Conference last week.

AirAsia’s pivot comes amid an unprecedented crisis that has brought the travel industry to its knees. While the company had the foresight to diversify from its core business well before the pandemic hit, it’s now running against the clock.

With travel demand just a fraction of what it was, the carrier has reported 803.3 million ringgit (US$187.9 million) in net losses from January to March, its biggest first-quarter loss since November 2004.

And despite the reopening of domestic routes, AirAsia’s external auditor Ernst & Young has said “material uncertainties” exist, which may cast doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Global passenger travel is not expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels until the end of 2023. As such, the success of AirAsia’s super-app ambitions will depend on the company’s ability to raise money to tide itself through this period. If it does work out, AirAsia could become a textbook example of how asset-heavy corporations can spin off new internet businesses.

While the notion of an airline-based super app might sound unusual, it’s actually not that far-fetched, as airlines are already more multifaceted than people might think: They’re transportation, logistics, F&B, media, and retail businesses rolled into one.

What AirAsia hopes to do is to take these units and extend them beyond the airplane.

Imagine travelers booking a flight to Malaysia through AirAsia.com and getting recommendations for holiday packages and hotel bundles as well.

Upon landing, they can order nasi lemak made by AirAsia’s F&B brand Santan through GrabFood or buy fresh carrots from ecommerce site Ourshop, paying through AirAsia’s in-house e-wallet BigPay. In the process, they collect BIGLife loyalty points that they can then use to offset costs in future flights or purchases. Finally, they receive their orders at their doorsteps via logistics service Teleport.

Ride hailing from the air

Teleport-ing to profitability

The AirAsia.com advantage

Keeping food delivery lean

Betting big on BigPay

Can this all work?