Annual Report 2020

deepen its presence across Penang, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak. Regionally, Teleport expects stronger brand recognition in Singapore and Thailand in particular, culminating in cross-border 24-hour delivery toward the later half of the year. Enabled by technology, it will use its focus on local community-led franchises to expand its supply of delivery partners and urban sorting hubs (“cloud warehouses”). This presents an efficient way to scale its infrastructure while providing job and income opportunities to many who may need additional support to recover from the pandemic. A key priority in 2021 will be to assist governments in any way possible to distribute Covid-19 vaccines efficiently and reliably throughout the region. As part of the AirAsia ecosystem, Teleport is eager to quickly bring back the days of travel and lifestyle we once took for granted. #TeamTeleport ended 2020 with close to 400 passionate and dedicated colleagues across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and China. BIGLIFE 2020 marked the 10th anniversary of BIGLIFE, an 80% owned subsidiary that manages the BIG Rewards programme (fka AirAsia BIG Loyalty). The event was accompanied by a rebranding of the loyalty programme from BIG Loyalty to BIG Rewards – reflecting a shift from being just an airline loyalty programme to becoming a comprehensive lifestyle rewards platform. With over 300 partners across lifestyle, travel and financial services categories, BIG Rewards is one of the biggest points platforms that allows borderless earn and burn activities across Asean and beyond. BIG Points have also evolved from just the programme’s loyalty points into a universal digital loyalty currency. Along with the rebrand, a revamped mobile app was launched with additional features to give BIG Members more choices to use their BIG Points beyond flights and travel. With BIG Deals, BIG Members are able to use their BIG Points to redeem a variety of lifestyle vouchers while enjoying savings on deals ranging from F&B and shopping to services and entertainment, redeemable directly via the app. The app comes equipped with a points top-up function, making it even easier for members with a low points balance to utilise their existing points; and a Pointsback feature, which incentivises repeat activities and continuous engagement with BIG Rewards. Another milestone was the roll-out of BIG Xchange on the airasia super app. BIG Xchange is an instant points exchange platform that allows members to convert bank and other loyalty points to BIG Points seamlessly and immediately. Current partners include Citibank (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia), PETRONAS, PARKSON, Sunway Pal (Malaysia), TrueYou, Boonthavorn, Krungsri Credit Card and Krungsri First Choice (Thailand). There are plans to rapidly grow this partner list in order to make BIG Xchange a universal points exchange hub for all loyalty points across Asean. Finally, to help BIG Members maximise their BIG Points, a "points expert" character named BIGGIE was introduced. Small in size but BIG in personality, BIGGIE’s role is not only to personalise the platform, but also to educate members on smarter ways to earn BIG Points fast and how to use points for greater rewards and savings. Initiatives carried out in 2020 enabled BIGLIFE to continue to report a positive EBITDA and profit after tax for the year. Going into 2021, the focus will be on stabilising the business by introducing more features such as points transfer and points sharing among family members, as well as blockchain-based points conversion on the BIG Xchange platform. The objective is to reinforce the positioning of BIG Points as a universal digital loyalty currency and to build a super highway that unifies and connects all loyalty programmes on one BIG platform. SANTAN Santan is the world’s first in-flight catering brand that has successfully "landed". Starting off with service at 30,000 ft, Santan is now synonymous with Asean fast-food restaurants each serving a combination of cult-status AirAsia in-flight dishes such as Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak and other favourites reflecting the best of the region. Despite various restrictions due to the pandemic, the brand continued to grow in 2020. Seven months after the successful launch of its premier restaurant in Mid Valley Megamall, Santan launched its second restaurant in Sunway Pyramid. It also acquired T&Co, a brand of Asean-blend beverages and airasia digital 86 AIRASIA GROUP BERHAD