AirAsia launched a “super-app” to compete with the likes of Grab

The popular low-cost Malaysian airline, AirAsia, debuted its “super app” for ride-hailing in Thailand today, which provides a variety of services ranging from car rides similar to Grab, and Bolt, to flight reservations and food ordering, in an already booming industry.

There are currently 3,000 registered drivers in the Bangkok metropolis, with ambitions to recruit more as tourism slowly picks up.

AirAsia is tackling the Bangkok market first before expanding its wings into tourist hotspots like Chiang Mai and Phuket, with the aim of gaining more attention from international visitors. AirAsia Super App: Fly & Ride application is now available for download on your phone.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Nathan Naidu says it won’t be an easy task for AirAsia to penetrate the ride-hailing market.

“It will need to burn a lot of cash to recruit drivers. Having said that, my experience with other markets in the region tells me that Southeast Asians are not yet loyal to their platforms, meaning they can be persuaded to switch with incentives such as coupons and promotions.”

SOURCE: Bangkok Post