AirAsia launches one-stop travel shop, aims to be go-to hub for travellers

AirAsia has launched a one-stop travel shop, airasia.com, expanding its offering beyond just flights to include everything from hotels and activities to restaurants and rewards deals. Airasia.com aims to provide a personalised travel experience using booking and behavioural data such as recent searches and destination information. The new platform will also unlock opportunities to book hotels, tours and activities at discounted prices and users can save up to 60% off on selected hotels around the world. Group CEO Tony Fernandes said on Twitter that airasia.com will also be set up as a separate company "within weeks" to monetise the budget airline's technology assets. "With all our airlines making good profits and providing huge data, airasia.com will be as big, if not bigger than Traveloka and other OTA which will be ASEAN-based and not just in one country," he said. Guests who book deals at airasia.com will also be able to earn AirAsia BIG Points with every transaction. Points can then be put towards payment at airasia.com, enabling guests to offset the costs of their flights and activities. To celebrate the launch of deals at airasia.com, AirAsia is giving away a promo code to its users for 15% discount of all activities and 5% additional discount on selected hotels. Aireen Omar, deputy group CEO of digital and technology, AirAsia said the launch of deals at airasia.com is a "significant part" of its transformation into more than just an airline. “More than 16 million flight bookings are made on airasia.com every year, meaning the platform will rival some of the region's largest online travel agencies. Coupled with our flights, we are confident it will become the go-to hub for travellers seeking the full travel experience,” she added.