「エアアジア・ウェイ」＠中日新聞コラム「静岡発こう読む」

昨日の中日新聞・朝刊に
コラム「静岡発こう読む」を寄稿させていただきました。



タイトルは
「エアアジア・ウェイ」。


「エアアジア」は
ご存知、アジアの主要LCCの一つ。
東南アジアに旅行する時
利用したことがある方も多いと思います。


その「エアアジア」のホームグランドが
KL (クアラルンプール) の klia2 (ターミナル2) です。


久しぶりに
klia2 発のフライトを利用しましたが、
どの空港よりも革新的だと、驚きました。


普通、チェックインカウンターには
長い行列ができ、
自分の番まで長く待たされるものですが、
klia2 には
「行列」はありません。


カウンターには
受付のスタッフもいません。


ALL自動化で、セルフチェックイン。


「エアアジア」のCEO トニー・フェルナンデス氏は
機内誌の中で
「The AirAsia Way」 (エアアジア・ウェイ) と題し、
今もなお、世界の旅行者の空旅を毎日、破壊的に革新し続ける、
同社の「哲学」、「ブランド」について語っています。


ぜひ皆さまも一度、
klia2 より、「エアアジア」の空旅を体験してみてください。


デジタルとテクノロジーを核にし
金融、音楽コンテンツ、外食と業容を拡大しつつ、
全く新しい「デジタルプラットフォーム」の構築を目指す「エアアジア」。


「エアアジア・ウェイ」という新しい生き方を作っている
「エアアジア」ブランドの進化にこれからも注目です。

The AirAsia Way

Value, choice and innovation are three key cornerstones of our brand.
We have already revolutionised air travel - enabling everyone to fly.
As we celebrate 18 years of operation for AirAsia, we are embarking on
a new journey: to become a leading digital one-stop travel and lifestyle
platform on airasia.com.

We are building a new way of life, The AirAsia Way.

Now, not only do we sell flights on AirAsia, but also on other airlines
across the globe. We have a finance company - BigPay; a lifestyle
platform offering flights, activities and accommodation packages -
airasia.com; a newly-opened Santan restaurant modelled on our
popular inflight Santan menu; a cargo logistics company - Teleport;
and a music brand, RedRecords, launched last December.

AirAsia Bundle Deals is the latest lifestyle product to be added to the
suite of offerings on airasia.com, and we have many more exciting
products and innovations in the pipeline, launching soon.

It was an incredibly proud moment for me when we announced the
new partnership with Universal Music Group to set up RedRecords.
The music industry will always hold a special place in my heart,
having spent many years there in my early career, A number of senior
management at AirAsia are also from the music industry.
So, in a sense, we have always been a musical airline - music has
always been in our DNA.

The music and aviation industries have many things in common.
Importantly, we must embrace technology and continually evolve to
survive.

AirAsia's FACES (Fast Airport Clearance Experience System)
technology, developed in Malaysia, has been recently installed in
key ports including Senai, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia,
and at Avalon Airport (Melbourne), as another step towards taking
the hassle out of air travel by reducing immigration and boarding
queues.

I'm thrilled with the response to our Santan restaurant, serving
delicious, healthy and affordable food options, now on the ground,
as well as 30,000ft in the air. Following the opening of our first
Santan dining venue in KL last December, we plan to roll out a
chain of restaurants in key destinations we operate to soon.

We are now much more than just an airline, and as our
transformation continues, I believe our digital platforms will
eventually surpass our aviation business in the future.

Thank you for choosing to fly AirAsia today. I look forward to seeing
you on board again soon as we continue to embrace digital technology
on airasia.com to deliver 'The AirAsia Way of Life' for everyone to enjoy.

Tony Fernandes
CEO of AirAsia Group