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AirAsia's Tony Fernandes Talks Digital Transformation in Exclusive Skift Interview

Dennis Schaal photo
Dennis Schaal

Photo Credit: AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes thinks the strength of the Group's brand can help it pivot into a digital lifestyle company. Flickr.com / Harry Murphy/RISE via Sportsfile

Skift Take

With the closure of its operation in Japan and rumblings about selling its stake in India, AirAsia Group will have to renews its focus on core markets in Southeast Asia. But while the airline operation turns inward, the group's e-commerce operation is gambling on expansion.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes was ready to take on the skeptics about the company's recent switch to a "digital lifestyle company, anchored on travel," and the doubters sound all too-familiar to him. "Every airline rubbished us," Fernandes told Skift in a one-on-one interview on Monday, recalling his purchase of AirAsia for less than $1 nearly two decades ago. "Everyone laughed at us. Who are these twits from the music business? I'm sure the digital guys are saying, who are these twits from the airline business. Time will tell." Fernandes touted the purported digital DNA of AirAsia, which he said was the first carrier in Asia to sell flight tickets online. "So we are not virgins at this digital thing," Fernandes said. Monday was a notable day for AirAsia. After launching the AirAsia.com app as "Asean's super app" last week and giving AirAsia.com its first tagline, "For everyone," the company offered "storewide discounts" on most of its products. By mid-afternoon, after about three hours of the sale, Fernandes, who'd just returned from the Malaysian Ministry of Finance after participating in loan discussions, which he said were "progressing well," tallied about 1,000 food delivery, and 400 fresh food orders in the first three hours of the promotion.

Sign Up Now to Watch AirAsia.com CEO Karen Chan Online During Skift Forum Asia - October 15, 2020

With AirAsia's Covid-19 downturn, which saw AirAsia Malaysia operating at 45 percent of pre-pandemic capacity in August, the closure of AirAsia Japan, and the possibility of selling its stake in AirAsia India looming, Fernandes' counting the number of food deliveries on a Monday morning was not a mere trivial pursuit. AirAsia Digital, formerly know as RedBeat Ventures, and featuring the AirAsia.com platform, logistics and

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