AirAsia Group Bhd is aiming to launch Muslim-friendly services including packages to perform the Haj and Umrah.
In the low-cost carrier’s management discussion and analysis in its Annual & Corporate Governance Report 2019 released July 29, AirAsia co-founder and group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the airline was actively assessing the prospects of a number of products that cater to niche travel.
“For example, we aim to launch Muslim-friendly services including packages to perform the Haj and Umrah.
“We are also looking to enter the medical tourism space, a rapidly growing segment where we would be able to provide the full complement of visas, travel, accommodation, and insurance,” he said.
He said the idea was to provide complete end-to-end services and experiences for travelers, who only need to search and click for what they want on their mobiles or laptops.
Fernandes said while AirAsia adhered to its low-cost model to be able to grow our network and offer an ever-increasing range of exciting destinations for guests, it was not able to fully cushion itself from the vagaries of the operating environment.
“Natural disasters, viral outbreaks, economic downturns, geopolitical upheavals – all of these can, and do impact travel,” he said.