Teleport promises service from air cargo shipment to door-to-door delivery. Photo credit: AirAsia
Malaysian budget airline AirAsia wants to transport Mindanao agricultural goods to locations across the Philippines and eventually overseas as it tests the market for its new logistics service, Teleport.
In a recent webinar organized by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, AirAsia Philippines Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Isla said Teleport is targeting to move farm produce, like fruits and seafoods, once the service is fully operational.
Delivers to your doorstep
Teleport is an end-to-end logistics provider. It offers cargo freight service to clients through AirAsia’s fleet of aircraft, and once the goods reach their destination, its riders will then deliver the goods to the customers’ doorsteps.
In a statement in November 2020, Teleport CEO Pete Chareonwongsak said, “Our mission is to make delivery simple, fast and affordable for everyone. With a one-hour delivery promise, we hope that all local merchants and businesses will benefit. Soon, businesses can experience 24-hour express deliveries between cities” as well as across the border.
He added, “The goal is by next year, with a click of a button, you can send almost anything instantly to anywhere AirAsia flies to.”
Isla said AirAsia is the only airline company that offers full delivery service. Teleport is leveraging on AirAsia’s fleet of 24 Airbus 8320 aircraft to provide chartered cargo freight service. Each plane has a capacity of 8 to 9 tons in its belly, while the cabin has about 5 to 7 tons.
“Teleport has a huge advantage of using AirAsia's fleet,” which connects 164 destinations worldwide, of which 125 are in Southeast Asia, he said. “We cannot wait for AirAsia to reopen its international flights so that we will be able to transport not only within domestic but international [destinations] too. Fingers crossed, we’re hoping that will happen by the fourth quarter.”
Areas of concentration
Teleport is in the midst of testing the market for its food delivery service in Metro Manila and will soon launch in Davao. It is working with fast-food chain McDonald’s to deliver food orders, but eventually it will start to deliver parcels.
Isla said AirAsia considers Mindanao, specifically Davao, as an area of concentration being among the airline’s biggest cargo customers. “Hopefully we can also provide logistics service for Mindanao’s produce.”
Mindanao contributes more than 30% to the national food trade, with fresh and processed fruits, coconut products, aquaculture products, and rubber among its top exports. Among the ASEAN member countries, Malaysia was the top destination of the country’s agricultural exports in the fourth quarter of 2020, with $71.60 million or 40.9% of the total agricultural exports to the ASEAN market, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Isla said AirAsia will work with the Davao business chamber to find partners in Mindanao.
Growth opportunities and constraints
In opening the webinar, Malou Monteverde, president of the Davao City business chamber, said although world trade is expected to slow down due to the pandemic, the air cargo industry is in a good position to capture growing specialized cargo segments, such as pharmaceuticals and perishables, which need fast delivery times. She anticipates strong demand for these products to meet the demands of Asia’s growing population.
While the air cargo industry has grown in the past few years, there remains pain points because of the lack of data sharing and different speeds of digitalization among stakeholders.
“These impede the industry from achieving greater efficiency, productivity, and supply chain visibility,” Monteverde said.