In an effort to further strengthen its cargo footprint across the region, airlines under the AirAsia Group have made available cargo spaces on their flights on Freightchain, a digital air cargo network based on blockchain. 

In a statement, AirAsia said its cargo services are managed by its logistics venture, Teleport who has also adopted Freightchain in order to provide AirAsia and other airlines a platform to increase their cargo capacity utilisation.

"With Freightchain, AirAsia is now able to fully interline its flights digitally with other airlines, allowing for a faster and more on-demand connectivity to transport cargo across Southeast Asia and beyond," the Kuala-Lumpur based airline said.

It noted that this will greatly benefit cargo-related businesses such as exporters, importers and freight forwarders as it simplifies the process and improves efficiency that translates into huge cost savings.  

"As we continue to innovate across all aspects of the cargo business, the listing of AirAsia on Freightchain supports our goal to be a formidable and reputable digital cargo distributor in the region," said Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer of AirAsia Group.

Maximizing belly space with lack of pax flights

"The ability to maximise cargo revenue through digital interlining is a game changer for the cargo industry," he added, noting that Freightchain provides an avenue to connect multiple airlines and destinations — opening up revenue opportunities for airlines.

All of our AirAsia Group airlines are now listed on Freightchain, Fernandes said. 

With the belly capacity utilization of scheduled commercial flights below 100%, at times about 50%, he said there is a huge opportunity for airlines to leverage on demand interlining on Freightchain to fill the belly space to deliver significant convenience, so they never have to fly empty.

"Collaborating with Freightchain provides a new world of possibilities during this time to transport cargo to areas we aren’t able to reach on our own," the AirAsia Group chief added.

Through Teleport, AirAsia is also making it possible for businesses to transport cargo to places outside its network and the region like Moscow and Brussels.

To date, Freighchain has on-boarded 10 airlines along with their agents and forwarders, including all of AirAsia Group's airlines based in the ASEAN.