AirAsia Group Bhd is officially changed its name to Capital A Bhd effective today, February 10 – reflecting the loss-making budget carrier’s diversification into digital businesses.
“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, CEO of Capital A explained.
He further added that the group believe 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.
Meanwhile, the airline will continue to be branded as AirAsia. Capital A, on the other hand, will be the investment holding company for the group’s new businesses such as food and parcel deliveries, ride-hailing and digital payments. In tackling the Covid-19 outbreak, the airline has been losing millions due to travel restrictions. Hence, the company has been pivoting into digital businesses to build a superapp that will compete with Southeast Asia’s tech titans such as Indonesia’s GoTo and Singapore’s Grab and Sea Group.
“We have pivoted, we have transformed and we have a five-year plan in place which will see non-airline revenues contributing around 50% of overall group revenue by 2026,” Fernandes said. “Once the airlines return to pre-Covid levels in the near future all of our other lines of business will benefit significantly and will all soar to new heights in tandem with one another.”
Furthermore, Capital A Bhd is rehiring employees it had to retrench in 2020 through its subsidiary airAsia grocer, an online grocery shopping platform that matches local farmers and grocery merchants to consumers. AirAsia grocer chief executive officer (CEO) Joanna Ibrahim said airasia grocer is the groceries delivery arm of the AirAsia super app (previously known as airasia farm).
Airasia farm had been established during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) back in June 2020. The aim is to address the issue of fresh produce going to waste because of logistics disruptions.
“Two-thirds of airasia grocer staff are from the airline and previously held various positions relevant to the airline space.”
“We prioritise hiring our former employees to join our team, as we believe that anything is possible with AirAsia’s multi-talented crew members that have a unique culture and are brave to take on new challenges,” Joanna said.
“We are doing right by rehiring our retrenched employees, especially the ground crew members. They have the skill sets that are applicable in all these other industries within the Capital A group,” Fernandes said.
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