AirAsia In Talks With Indian Banks For Possible Partnership

Friday, 26th September 2014 at 04:40am

What makes AirAsia so different from its rivals is its unlimited creative resources to capture and expand its market.

Recently, the airline is in the midst of a series of negotiations with individual banks in India to forge a strategic partnership through card loyalty programme similar to the existing system that it has in Malaysia for its Malaysian unit.

The said negotiation has been going on for a while, admitted Loh Wai Meng, AirAsia BIG CEO. AirAsia BIG is a rewards card system adopted by its Malaysian unit which allows customers who are bank cardholders to convert their reward points into BIG points. Depending on the accumulated points stored in the card, they can use them to purchase AirAsia tickets.

The same official said they are hoping to make announcement pertaining to the matter as soon as early next year barring any glitches.

He disclosed that the budget giant also has existing partnerships with major banks in Thailand, Singapore and, of course, Malaysia. He particularly cited Malaysia and Thailand where he claimed that almost all banks in those countries have partnered with them already. In Singapore, where they have just started to penetrate, they were able to tie up with DBS and Starhub already.

At present, AirAsia BIG partners have grown to 400 which include petrol stations, malls and banks.

The executive official was also boasting about its advantage over their rivals in India, saying they will be the only low-cost airline in the country to have such a programme. He said that full-service airlines in India may have similar scheme, but he said they don't consider them as competitors for obvious reasons.

He took pride of having partnered with Hilton HHonors, Hilton Hotel's distinguished loyalty programme for its guests around the globe. Hilton Hotel group is comprised of 11 distinct hotel brands that include Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton.

The partnership allows members of both AirAsia BIG and Hilton HHonors to earn both BIG and HHonors points when they stay in any of the over 4,200 Hilton properties worldwide as well as timeshare properties.

By: Pete Lee.