AirAsia Group Berhad has changed their name to ‘Capital A’, reflecting the company’s business strategy as an investment holding company with a portfolio of synergistic travel and lifestyle businesses. The company also reported their preliminary Q4 and FY21 airline results.
On Friday (January 28, 2022), AirAsia Group Berhad announced a name change for the group holding company which will now be ‘Capital A Berhad’, reflecting the Group’s new core strategy as an investment holding company with a synergistic portfolio of travel and lifestyle businesses. The goal of the name change is to express the fact that the AirAsia brand is now much more than just an airline. Additionally, on Thursday (January 27th), the Group also reported their preliminary financial airline business results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021 for the period ending December 31, 2021.
Speaking at Friday’s name change media event, Capital A’s Chief Executive Officer, Tony Fernandes, said in part,
“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…
“…Essentially Capital A is an investment company with a broad portfolio of businesses which all deliver the best value at the lowest cost, supported by strong data built up over two decades. We also have one of Asia's leading brands to ride on, a strong people-first culture and an underlying promise of remaining committed to serving the underserved in all that we do. Just like what the airline has done from day one, all of our different lines of business will deliver the same strategy that is underscored by doing what we do best - making travel and everyday lifestyle services affordable, accessible and inclusive to all…
“…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…
“…We already have over 50 million monthly unique visitors on our super app which has been recognised as a tech unicorn in under two years, our fintech business BigPay, has been given a significant injection of USD $100million from South Korea conglomerate SK Group and overall we have raised over RM 2.5 billion to date through our fundraising strategy. Following strong consumer and investor support for our transformation strategy, we now set our sights on further capital raising initiatives for the airasia Super App, Teleport and ADE which will be announced in due course.”
Speaking specifically on the airline, Mr. Fernandes added in part,
“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….
“…We have pivoted, we have transformed and we have a five year plan in place which will see non airline revenues contributing around 50 percent of overall Group revenue by 2026. 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.”
In a separate announcement on Thursday (January 27, 2022), AirAsia Group Berhad (now Capital A Berhad) reported their preliminary airline business fourth quarter and full year financial results for the period ending December 31, 2021.
Source: Capital A Berhad/AirAsia