AirAsia Group Berhad has announced a name change for the group holding company to become Capital A. The name change reflects the group’s new core business strategy as an investment holding company with a portfolio of travel and lifestyle businesses, which have rapidly transformed the AirAsia brand into much more than just an airline, the company said.
CEO of Capital A, Tony Fernandes said: “This is not just about unveiling a new logo. It’s a significant milestone that marks a new era for the group. Today’s announcement reinforces we are not 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. Our brand has continuously evolved based on driving innovation and meeting ever changing consumer demand. 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. We believe that the new company name will also further enhance the marketability of our products and boost the success of our group for the long haul.”
“We are now delivering more products and services under one umbrella than any other brand in ASEAN and with access to over 700 million people in the region, I foresee incredible growth opportunities for our brand across many different industries in all of our core markets,” Fernandes said. “We have 16 products and services on our airasia Super App, providing not only the best value flight and travel deals but also everyday lifestyle needs, from food to retail and e-commerce, to same day delivery, ride hailing and much more. We are already one of the top three online travel agents (OTAs) in ASEAN and our super app is on track to become the leading lifestyle app in the region very soon.”
On the airline, Fernandes said “While Capital A will be the new group holding company name, one thing that isn’t changing is the AirAsia brand name for our airlines. It’s one of the strongest brands in Asia and provides a solid platform for all of our 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. I am hopeful borders will reopen gradually throughout 2022 and we will see a return to normal capacity for our international services by the middle to third quarter of this year.”
Teleport invests in Kargo
In its efforts to be a major player for delivery in the Southeast Asia region, Teleport, the logistics venture of airasia, has invested in Kargo Technologies (Kargo), Indonesia’s largest trucking marketplace, in the form of convertible notes. The acquisition was funded through Teleport’s internally generated sources. The investment connects Kargo’s trucking network to Teleport’s infrastructure, expanding Teleport’s mid-mile capabilities beyond just air cargo. In line with Teleport’s mission to move things across Southeast Asia better than anybody else, the partnership with Kargo unlocks an opportunity to combine air connectivity with trucking capabilities on the ground, leveraging strong technology and enhancing the network. For Indonesia, in particular, given its archipelagic geography and topography, the most effective way to connect these cities is to operate a “middle mile” service connecting both land and air. For Kargo, Teleport’s regional presence, vast network and rich data will assist them to expand their footprint rapidly across the region. The partnership will also support Teleport’s commitment to making 24 hour deliveries possible using the multi-modal routes across the archipelago.
Kargo Technologies has over 75,000 trucks in its network and will use the funds from the transaction to support the company’s continued growth for end-to-end freight coverage in the B2B space and for expansion to other cities in the region in conjunction with Teleport.
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AirAsia brand has been badly tarnished by the company’s dishonest business practice of withholding customers’ ticket payments through flight cancellation and using them as a form of free financing to pay for all these new business ventures.
Capital A is just old wine in a new bottle and the company is likely to go bankrupt due to its lack of cash, lack of depth and lack of deep pocket to finance all these exotic cash burn new business ventures. AA is failing as a trusted budget airline, its food delivery services have never taken off, its ride-hailing service is always unavailable, and its airfreight business is nothing but a transport provider for logistic companies. And lastly, the so-called AA Super App is a super flop app with tons of 1-star reviews by angry customers to are struggling to perform simple tasks.
Tony Fernandez modus operandi is big talking, trying to reinvent the wheel and window dressing his businesses to deceive investors to part with their money. Without a cash cow business operation left in his AA empire and so many cash-burning business operation, it will be hard for this company to survive regardless if you call it Capital A or Capital BS.