AirAsia X has announced that Capital A’s (formerly AirAsia Group) logistics venture Teleport will be using the full belly space of one third of the carrier’s widebody A330-300 fleet.
The agreement is initially for a period of one year, with Teleport using Air Asia X’s additional capacity to fulfil its robust customer requirements in the Asia-Pacific region.
Air Asia X recently also announced a strategic partnership with global logistics leader GEODIS to mount several weekly dedicated cargo flights throughout Asia-Pacific for an extended period, making the Teleport deal the second major announcement in the recent weeks for Capital A’s low-cost affiliate.
CEO of AirAsia X, Benyamin Ismail, said: “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.”
Captain Suresh Kumar Bangah, COO of AirAsia X, said: “We will only fly if it is 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.”
CEO of Teleport, Pete Chareonwongsak, noted that as a fully capable cargo provider Teleport is on the right track to contribute to the logistical accessibility and the growing demand of the region by spotlighting its commitment to move things across Southeast Asia better than anybody else.
He said: “We do this by offering the best speed, value and coverage to all our customers. Our partnership in supporting AirAsia X further strengthens our position in the market and further validates that.”
