Articles tagged “airasia”

In Skift's top stories this week, we covered Sonesta's rapid growth at the expense of Marriott and IHG, Asia's travel recovery, AirAsia's digital transformation, and Southwest's business travel strategy, among others.

Tripadvisor CEO Steve Kaufer may be underestimating the threat competitors pose to its tours and activities business, a segment the company may see as its largest opportunity. But it's true that Airbnb is only going after a small slice of that market for now, and Amazon's intentions are unclear.

If the U.S. Department of Justice indeed takes imminent steps to begin the process of leveling the playing field for Google's travel advertisers and competitors in other verticals, the size of the impact would depend on the specifics. There will be a lot of wrangling — and this could be the beginning of the beginning.

With the closure of its operation in Japan and rumblings about selling its stake in India, AirAsia Group will have to renews its focus on core markets in Southeast Asia. But while the airline operation turns inward, the group's e-commerce operation is gambling on expansion.

The airline said there was no visibility and certainty of a post-pandemic recovery path. Alarmingly, that could sum up most travel companies' predicaments today.

When it comes to brainstorming, there's no substitute for a Skift reporter ambling over to a Skift Research analyst's desk, and shooting the breeze about Oyo's model, or looking over a shoulder to view on screen how Expedia's marketing spend is trending. That dynamic is really tough to replicate on Zoom.

Airline officials can't just snap their fingers to proclaim they have successfully become way more than an airline. That being said, AirAsia did launch a new vacation package business called Snap. AirAsia's digital business is still very much a work in progress with much to be proven.

The coronavirus crisis accentuates the value of travel advisors as much as it highlights their plight as go-betweens in the tourism sector. But a bigger question looms: Will these travel intermediaries in Asia survive the onslaught of this latest crisis?

The coronavirus ban has plunged Asia tourism into a challenging period, but the outlook needs not be bleak if industry players take the opportunity to reduce their reliance on a single market.

There's always some give-and-take whenever any customer places a big order for anything. But did Airbus go too far to try to sway AirAsia? And what will this mean for CEO Tony Fernandes' grand digital plans?