The airline industry has suffered as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and budget airline AirAsia is no different.
That’s probably why it’s venturing out into food delivery, as that’s one of the businesses that have continued to thrive, especially when more people are working from home.
After weeks of anticipation, AirAsia Food has launched in Singapore, and we can start ordering from the platform now.
To entice customers to order, the service is offering unlimited free delivery till 16 Mar, for deliveries within 8km of the order point.
According to a press release, the Malaysian carrier officially entered the Singapore market on Tuesday (2 Mar).
Other than green and pink, food delivery riders in Singapore will now be seen in bright red, which is AirAsia’s signature brand colour.
Perhaps you might already have seen them out and about.
The brand new service already has 26 food outlets on board, going by a check on their website. More are expected to come online very soon.
There are a good mix of Asian and Western restaurants, including Swee Choon Tim Sum, Maki-san, Pizza Express, Brinda’s and Miam Miam.
Eventually, about 80 restaurants will be offered initially, and 300 others will be added soon.
Customers can sort out the outlets according to categories (i.e. halal, Asian, Western) and distance from your home.
Food can also be ordered in advance even if the restaurant is closed.
This will help if you want to plan your meals ahead of time.
If you download and sign up with the AirAsia super app, you can also take advantage of a points system to earn and pay for your food deliveries.
In what must be a world’s first, the reward points earned by ordering food delivery will be able to be used to redeem flights on AirAsia.
AirAsia food will charge food & beverage (F&B) operators a 15% commission rate per delivery – lower than other local delivery services.
AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes said this will help food businesses keep their costs low, and pass on the savings to customers.
So far, operators have shown a “positive response”. The list of food outlets is thus expected to grow fast.
To further convince more to join, they also won’t have to pay any registration or setup fees when they sign up with AirAsia food.
Operators who’re interested can fill up the form here and an AirAsia food agent will help them go “live” within 48 hours, said AirAsia super app’s head of e-commerce Lim Ben-Jie.
As for delivery riders, AirAsia food is courting them with an incentive scheme.
They’ll be able to earn up to $700 a week on average, Mr Lim estimated.
He said this would be “very viable option” for riders affected by the recent rise in petrol taxes.
The maximum distance riders will have to deliver is 20km from a restaurant, with delivery fees going from $2.99 to $20.
About 500 riders have already joined, with the company aiming to double that figure by the 3rd quarter of 2021.
Those interested in joining the team can fill up the form here.
For AirAsia, entering the competitive food delivery industry is a necessary move as income from commercial passenger flights dwindles.
As food delivery has truly become a way of life for Singaporeans, having more choices as we work from home is always a good thing.
We’re also sure many will be enticed by the current free delivery promotion.
To start ordering, download the AirAsia super app and click on the “Food” icon, or visit the website at airasia.com/food.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured images courtesy of AirAsia Food.
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