AirAsia to mentor start-ups as they develop products for travel sector

AirAsia is partnering with Plug and Play Tech Center, a global startup innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley. AirAsia will work as an anchor partner of Plug and Play’s Travel and Hospitality programme to mentor new businesses and collaborate with emerging technologies.This will allow AirAsia to identify, observe and support relevant startups as they develop new products and technologies for the travel sector. AirAsia deputy group CEO (Digital, Transformation and Corporate Services) Aireen Omar said, “This partnership - the first of many to keep a finger on the pulse of innovation - will allow us to identify leading edge technologies that will help maintain our leadership in cost and customer experience and transform AirAsia from an airline into a global digital company.”Plug and Play Founder and CEO Saeed Amidi said, “We are here to help AirAsia engage with the most promising startups in the industry and bring new ideas into their business. Their expertise will be a great addition to our ecosystem and we welcome them to Silicon Valley.”AirAsia has also invested heavily in digital services as it embarks on a transformation process to become a truly digital airline, including BigPay financial services app, ROKKI inflight entertainment and connectivity, AirAsia BIG Loyalty programme and RedBox logistics.