AirAsia X signs cargo deal with Teleport in bid to boost freight

The announcement came just days after Capital A revealed plans to reorganize the airline division and diversify in an online press conference. During the conference, Capital A’s chief executive Tony Fernandes said that for the foreseeable short-term future, the focus of AirAsia Aviation Group will be on short-term travel within the Southeast Asian region.

The Teleport deal comes as AirAsia X tries to boost its cargo revenue to make up for the lack of revenue on the passenger side as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On January 26, 2022, AirAsia X announced that it had partnered with French transport, logistics, and supply chain GEODIS to increase cargo capacity in Asia Pacific.

AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said that the company is in talks with other “major global clients that have air cargo requirements”.

“We are also in discussions with several other major global clients that have air cargo requirements, particularly to where we have established bases and flying rights. It’s just two months post our restructuring and the appetite for expansion of our cargo operations is significant. This dovetails neatly into one of the core pillars of our combination carrier strategy. For the foreseeable future, cargo revenue will underpin our route strategy and passenger revenue for the first time, will be ancillary,” Ismail said in a statement.

COO Captain Suresh Kumar Bangah said that the airline will only fly when it’s profitable and that AirAsia X hopes to bring back more aircraft over the course of the year.

“We will only fly if it’s profitable to fly. With our restructured low-cost base, we can fly profitably where other airlines may not be able to and this is a significant advantage to us.  We intend to add a further one plane a month to full service from now and we hope to have our full fleet operational by the end of the third quarter. As more aircraft are brought back into service, we are able to recall back pilots and crew who have been through a tough period during this pandemic,” Bangah said.