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	<title>TravHQ &#187; AirAsia</title>
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		<title>AirAsia heads to Silicon Valley in search of travel startups</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-heads-to-silicon-valley-in-search-of-travel-startups/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-heads-to-silicon-valley-in-search-of-travel-startups/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Apr 2018 03:16:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Debarati Dasgupta]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[aviation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plug and play tech center]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[silicon valley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel startups]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=75022</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>AirAsia is making its foray into US Silicon Valley, home to startups and global technology companies, to find “the best startups in the travel industry”. The low-cost carrier is carrying out the search in partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center, a global innovation platform for startups, corporations and investors. As the anchor partner of...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-heads-to-silicon-valley-in-search-of-travel-startups/" title="ReadAirAsia heads to Silicon Valley in search of travel startups">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-heads-to-silicon-valley-in-search-of-travel-startups/">AirAsia heads to Silicon Valley in search of travel startups</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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<p>AirAsia is making its foray into US Silicon Valley, home to startups and global technology companies, to find “the best startups in the travel industry”.</p>
<p>The low-cost carrier is carrying out the search in partnership with <a href="http://plugandplaytechcenter.com/" target="_blank">Plug and Play Tech Center</a>, a global innovation platform for startups, corporations and investors. As the anchor partner of Plug and Play’s Travel and Hospitality programme, AirAsia will be able to identify, observe and support relevant startups as they develop new products for the travel sector. The programme mentors new businesses and collaborates with emerging technologies.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/airasia-e1523006850731.jpg" data-rel="lightbox-0"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-75023" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/airasia-e1523006850731.jpg" alt="airasia" width="600" height="400" /></a></p>
<blockquote><p>Commenting on the move, Aireen Omar, AirAsia deputy group CEO (digital, transformation and corporate services), said, “This partnership, the first of many to keep a finger on the pulse of innovation, will allow us to identify leading edge technologies that will help maintain our leadership in cost and customer experience and transform AirAsia from an airline into a global digital company.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Plug and Play founder and CEO Saeed Amidi welcomed AirAsia to Silicon Valley, remarking that the airline’s expertise would be a great addition to the platform’s ecosystem. “We are here to help AirAsia engage with the most promising startups in the industry and bring new ideas into their business.”</p>
<p>The carrier has invested heavily in digital services. In March, AirAsia founder and CEO Tony Fernandes officially unveiled <a href="https://www.bigpayme.com/" target="_blank">BigPay</a>, the budget airline’s new digital payments platform, at the Money 2020 conference in Singapore. BigPay offers a mobile wallet which can store up to 10 credit and debit cards, and has partnered with MasterCard to offer its own top-up cash card that can be used for payments and withdrawals worldwide. Previously, the airline debuted its Fast Airport Clearance Experience System (FACES) facial recognition boarding gates at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru, its southern hub in Malaysia, making it the first in Asia to be fully automated from check-in to boarding.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-heads-to-silicon-valley-in-search-of-travel-startups/">AirAsia heads to Silicon Valley in search of travel startups</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>Lessons in Online Crisis Management for Air Asia</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/lessons-in-online-crisis-management-for-air-asia/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/news/lessons-in-online-crisis-management-for-air-asia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Oct 2017 16:39:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Editorial]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[air asia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=74219</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>By now you all would have read about the horrific experience of passengers, AirAsia flight QZ535 from Perth to Bali had to go through. The airline is facing the wrath of passengers on-board who complained about the wild and shocking behavior of staff. Social media is once again denting the image of the airline in a...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/lessons-in-online-crisis-management-for-air-asia/" title="ReadLessons in Online Crisis Management for Air Asia">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/lessons-in-online-crisis-management-for-air-asia/">Lessons in Online Crisis Management for Air Asia</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p>By now you all would have read about the horrific experience of passengers, AirAsia flight QZ535 from Perth to Bali had to go through. The airline is facing the wrath of passengers on-board who complained about the wild and shocking behavior of staff.</p>
<p>Social media is once again denting the image of the airline in a big way with lot of news portals as well aviation experts sharing their experiences.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">An aviation expert says AirAsia should not be allowed to fly in and out of Australia until it meets safety standards. <a href="https://twitter.com/DamoNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DamoNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9News?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9News</a> <a href="https://t.co/q7MTxylzRt">pic.twitter.com/q7MTxylzRt</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/9NewsAUS/status/919823368605405184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>In a series of Tweets, another twitter user Captain Rahmat has posted the entire sequence from the beginning. Clearly the larger that has been highlighted is staff training.</p>
<blockquote><p>Airlines need to train cabin crew to speak with clarity, pronounce each syllable. Many just waffle through fake accents as long as an announcement is made #QZ535</p></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">1) Okay&#8230;now onto <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QZ535?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QZ535</a> because some people asked me on WhatsApp about the incident and what do I think</p>
<p>&mdash; CaptRahmat (@CaptRahmat) <a href="https://twitter.com/CaptRahmat/status/919765663463366657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p><img class="alignnone wp-image-74223" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/aircraft-513641_1920-1024x682.jpg" alt="aircraft-513641_1920" width="600" height="400" /></p>
<p>While the issue was attributed to cabin pressure, the volume of tweets with the hashtag #QZ535 have skyrocketed.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Indonesia Air Asia <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QZ535?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#QZ535</a> (A320 PK-AXD) Perth-Bali ret. to Perth Sunday 0435UTC/1235AWST w/ a pressurization issue: <a href="https://t.co/PKyxsmmz55">https://t.co/PKyxsmmz55</a> <a href="https://t.co/hQQsYPmhiy">pic.twitter.com/hQQsYPmhiy</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Airport Webcams (@AirportWebcams) <a href="https://twitter.com/AirportWebcams/status/919706030157762560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2017</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>This brings us to the crux of the discussion, how should an airline react to criticism on Social Media? Is an offline apology enough or does the apply on Social Media.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/lessons-in-online-crisis-management-for-air-asia/">Lessons in Online Crisis Management for Air Asia</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>AirAsia acquires 50% stake in travel planning startup Touristly</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-acquires-50-stake-in-travel-planning-startup-touristly/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-acquires-50-stake-in-travel-planning-startup-touristly/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Apr 2017 10:38:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Aekansh Malhotra]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[startup funding]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[touristly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel startup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tune labs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=73442</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>AirAsia Berhad is acquiring a 50% stake in online travel planner Touristly through an asset injection and loan deal valued at RM11.5 million (approx. USD 2.61 million). With this deal, AirAsia Berhad will inject the digital platform of its Travel 3Sixty inflight magazine (valued at RM6.5 million/USD 1.48 million), into Touristly via AirAsia Investments Ltd...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-acquires-50-stake-in-travel-planning-startup-touristly/" title="ReadAirAsia acquires 50% stake in travel planning startup Touristly">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-acquires-50-stake-in-travel-planning-startup-touristly/">AirAsia acquires 50% stake in travel planning startup Touristly</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p>AirAsia Berhad is acquiring a 50% stake in online travel planner <a href="https://touristly.com/" target="_blank">Touristly</a> through an asset injection and loan deal valued at RM11.5 million (approx. USD 2.61 million). With this deal, AirAsia Berhad will inject the digital platform of its Travel 3Sixty inflight magazine (valued at RM6.5 million/USD 1.48 million), into Touristly via AirAsia Investments Ltd and extend a RM5 million (USD 1.48 million) convertible loan to Touristly for working capital and development.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-73443" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/TouristlyTeam-1024x683.jpg" alt="touristly team" width="900" height="600" /></p>
<p>The digital platform comprises the online brand for the Travel 3Sixty inflight magazine, touchpoints on <a href="http://airasia.com" target="_blank">airasia.com</a> and online advertising assets, which will allow the startup to reach AirAsia&#8217;s 60 million guests annually. Along with this, Touristly will also gain access to offline advertising assets including the physical inflight magazine, overhead bins and seat trays on AirAsia flights.</p>
<p>On completion of the deal, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes will serve as Chairman of the Board for Touristly. While the startup will gain customers with the reach of AirAsia, the airline will be able to offer a wider array of services and activities such as restaurants, theme parks, attractions, spas and tours at more than 70 destinations that the airline operates to.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Touristly CEO Aaron Sarma</strong> said, &#8220;​Working with AirAsia has been on our minds since our inception. The insight we can gain from AirAsia&#8217;s 15 years in the travel industry will help us better understand the Asia Pacific market and quickly adapt to deliver real value to our customers. Our dream was to help travellers to Asia Pacific find amazing things to do in the region and we&#8217;re truly excited about this opportunity to be able to share our platform with more people.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>AirAsia Group CEO Tony ​Fernandes</strong> said, &#8220;We see enormous potential in Touristly, which perfectly complements AirAsia&#8217;s existing travel offering. Our guests will be able to choose from thousands of activities when purchasing a flight and this brings us a step closer to becoming a truly one-stop digital airline.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Touristly previously <a href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-secures-investment-round-tune-labs/" target="_blank">raised an undisclosed pre-Series A round</a> from Tune Labs which saw the platform being integrated with several Tune Group companies.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/airasia-acquires-50-stake-in-travel-planning-startup-touristly/">AirAsia acquires 50% stake in travel planning startup Touristly</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>Touristly secures investment round from Tune Labs</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-secures-investment-round-tune-labs/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-secures-investment-round-tune-labs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Aug 2016 03:30:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Akshay Sharma]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[touristly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[travel startup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tune labs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=71383</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>After winning the Pitch@Palace Malaysia, Malaysian travel startup Touristly has announced today that it has successfully secured a strategic investment from Tune Labs. Touristly was launched in June last year to enable travellers to customize their holiday plans with ease. It offers a wide array of activities for travellers so that they don’t have to...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-secures-investment-round-tune-labs/" title="ReadTouristly secures investment round from Tune Labs">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-secures-investment-round-tune-labs/">Touristly secures investment round from Tune Labs</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p>After winning the Pitch@Palace Malaysia, Malaysian travel startup Touristly has announced today that it has successfully secured a strategic investment from Tune Labs. Touristly was launched in June last year to enable travellers to customize their holiday plans with ease. It offers a wide array of activities for travellers so that they don’t have to search through multiple websites. The trip planner gives travellers the option to curate their holidays by selecting from the deals available on the platform. They can also share their itineraries and book the trip in a single click. The platform features over 7,000 deals spread across 70 destination around Asia Pacific.</p>
<div id="attachment_71384" style="width: 910px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-large wp-image-71384" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/touristly-photo-1024x779.jpg" alt="touristly photo" width="900" height="685" /><p class="wp-caption-text">L to R-Touristly CEO &amp; Founder, Aaron Sarma and Gareth Lim, Co-Managing Partner of Tune Labs</p></div>
<p>Tune Labs, the Kuala Lumpur based startup incubator and accelerator, has invested an undisclosed sum towards a pre-series A round.</p>
<blockquote><p>“We are very excited to be part of the Tune Group family as it complements our services for travellers and tourists. After a traveller books their flights and accommodation, the natural next step is to plan the holiday itinerary itself and this is where we come in,” said Aaron Sarma, founder and CEO of Touristly.</p>
<p>“We currently offer 7,000 deals in over 70 destinations and we will be working to grow our base to shadow AirAsia and AirAsia X’s 120 destinations. This will be in favour of completing the travel experience for anyone who flies with the airline,” he added.</p></blockquote>
<p>With this association, Touristly is incorporating its platform with several companies in Tune Group such as AirAsia’s Travel 3Sixty, Tune Hotels, Tune Protect and AirAsia BIG. The integration intends to leverage on the large market of on-ground activities and AirAsia’s huge customer base to benefit both Tune Group and Touristly.</p>
<blockquote><p>“This Tune Labs and Touristly agreement provides a great example of how the Tune Group ecosystem can generate significant synergies with a startup, even at a relatively nascent stage. We look forward to working with Aaron and his team, establishing Touristly as the Asia Pacific traveller’s first port of call when planning and booking travel activities,” stated Arun Verma, Co-Managing Partner of Tune Labs.</p>
<p>“Touristly provides the Tune Group with a neat stepping stone to extend its presence along the travel and hospitality chain. AirAsia travellers, BIG Loyalty members, and Tune Hotels guests will now have easy access to a one-stop platform to plan, book, and purchase holiday activities &#8211; at a compelling price point consistent with Tune Group unique selling point – and share their travel experiences throughout Asia,” said Gareth Lim, Co-Managing Partner of Tune Labs.</p></blockquote>
<p>To kick off this association, Touristly announced a <a href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-announces-partnership-with-airasia-big-to-offer-more-value-to-travellers/" target="_blank">partnership with AirAsia BIG</a> near the end of March earlier this year. The partnership would allow travellers to earn loyalty points giving all the partners the reach to other partners’ consumer base. This was followed by an integration with Tune Hotel to offer on-ground activity concierge services to the travellers.</p>
<p>After emerging as one of the winners at Pitch@Palace Malaysia, Touristly will be heading to Pitch@Palace Global in UK later this year to reach out to global audience.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-secures-investment-round-tune-labs/">Touristly secures investment round from Tune Labs</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>Touristly announces partnership with AirAsia BIG to offer more value to travellers</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-announces-partnership-with-airasia-big-to-offer-more-value-to-travellers/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-announces-partnership-with-airasia-big-to-offer-more-value-to-travellers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Mar 2016 06:30:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Aekansh Malhotra]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[airasia big]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[loyalty program]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=69513</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Touristly, a recently launched platform that allows travellers to customize holidays easily, has announced a partnership with AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme, a joint venture between AirAsia and Tune Money. The partnership will enable AirAsia BIG members to earn loyalty points from creating and booking their holiday itineraries on Touristly. The users will gain 1 AirAsia...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-announces-partnership-with-airasia-big-to-offer-more-value-to-travellers/" title="ReadTouristly announces partnership with AirAsia BIG to offer more value to travellers">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-announces-partnership-with-airasia-big-to-offer-more-value-to-travellers/">Touristly announces partnership with AirAsia BIG to offer more value to travellers</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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<p>Touristly, a recently launched platform that allows travellers to customize holidays easily, has announced a partnership with <a href="http://www.airasiabig.com/global/en/index.php" target="_blank">AirAsia BIG</a> Loyalty Programme, a joint venture between AirAsia and Tune Money. The partnership will enable AirAsia BIG members to earn loyalty points from creating and booking their holiday itineraries on <a href="https://touristly.com/" target="_blank">Touristly</a>.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-69515" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/HowItWorks-poster.png" alt="HowItWorks-poster" width="1440" height="1090" /></p>
<p>The users will gain 1 AirAsia BIG point for every RM3 spent on Touristly and an additional 300 loyalty points for booking their first itinerary. They will also be running a limited time promotion offering significantly higher gains.</p>
<blockquote><p>“At Touristly, we are always looking for ways to enhance the travel planning experience by engaging travellers in what we view as the most fun element of going on a trip – the holiday itinerary. This exciting partnership gives us an opportunity to further reward travellers for planning and booking their holiday itineraries ahead of time by allowing customers to earn AirAsia BIG points not only from their flight and hotel arrangements but also from the actual holiday,” expressed Aaron Sarma, CEO and founder of Touristly.</p>
<p>In view of the partnership between AirAsia BIG and Touristly, Dato’ Bernard Francis, Chief Operation Officer from AirAsia BIG added, “AirAsia customers have been the reason for our success these many years, and we at AirAsia BIG would like show our appreciation for their much-valued support. This is why AirAsia BIG Loyalty Programme offers the best value of points to our BIG members and frequent flyers of AirAsia, worldwide. Our ultimate goal is to reward our members. With the joint partnership with Touristly, our mission is to enable everyone to fly to their dream destinations by earning AirAsia BIG Points together.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Loyalty points offer huge advantages to frequent travellers. AirAsia BIG has got multiple travel partners including OTAs, flight metasearch, hotel chains, car rental services and more spread across different countries. Unlike the loyalty programs limited to a single brand, programs like AirAsia BIG offer more ways a traveller can earn loyalty points and thus he or she is more likely to continue using it. Brands also observe increase in returning customers as they see incentive for coming back. Touristly being a relatively new player in the competitive travel space will certainly gain advantage by associating with AirAsia BIG.</p>
<p>Websites: <a href="https://touristly.com/" target="_blank">Touristly</a> | <a href="http://www.airasiabig.com/global/en/index.php" target="_blank">AirAsia BIG</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/touristly-announces-partnership-with-airasia-big-to-offer-more-value-to-travellers/">Touristly announces partnership with AirAsia BIG to offer more value to travellers</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>Amadeus Next partners with Tune Labs to gear up Asia Pacific travel start-ups</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/amadeus-next-partners-with-tune-labs-to-gear-up-asia-pacific-travel-start-ups/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/news/amadeus-next-partners-with-tune-labs-to-gear-up-asia-pacific-travel-start-ups/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Mar 2016 08:30:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ketki Kumar]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amadeus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[amadeus next]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=69022</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>When we talk about the start-ups aka ‘new kid on the block’, it only gets tough when you don’t know how to proceed with certain operations. Travel sector is creating a humongous shift in the landscape and the way we will travel. We owe it mostly to the start-ups that are nascent and have a...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/amadeus-next-partners-with-tune-labs-to-gear-up-asia-pacific-travel-start-ups/" title="ReadAmadeus Next partners with Tune Labs to gear up Asia Pacific travel start-ups">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/amadeus-next-partners-with-tune-labs-to-gear-up-asia-pacific-travel-start-ups/">Amadeus Next partners with Tune Labs to gear up Asia Pacific travel start-ups</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p>When we talk about the start-ups aka ‘new kid on the block’, it only gets tough when you don’t know how to proceed with certain operations. Travel sector is creating a humongous shift in the landscape and the way we will travel. We owe it mostly to the start-ups that are nascent and have a potential of bringing about that change. South East Asia is crawling with potential start-ups that are promising and are looking forward to gain early insights to validate a solution and get that experience and knowledge of the existing market trends and forecasts.</p>
<p>Amadeus is a leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the global travel industry. Their Amadeus Next initiative aims to build and foster the leading travel tech start-up community in Asia Pacific. To support and nurture the start-ups, they&#8217;ve partnered with various incubators, start-up accelerators, media brands, investors and venture capital firms.</p>
<p>Today, Amadeus announces its latest Amadeus Next partnership with Tune Labs, the incubator and accelerator programme of Tune Group, whose founders have brought to market businesses such as AirAsia, Tune Hotels, Tune Insurance and Tune Money.Tune Labs is a Kuala Lumpur-based start-up incubator and accelerator programme that seeks to identify, mentor and fund entrepreneurs across ASEAN.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/tune-labs.png" data-rel="lightbox-0"><img class="alignnone wp-image-69032 size-full" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/tune-labs.png" alt="tune labs" width="1340" height="657" /></a></p>
<p>Both companies have a common goal in mind; to boost the travel tech start-up scene in Asia Pacific. By creating a community of like-minded partners, passionate about driving travel tech innovation forward, Amadeus Next can benefit not only start-ups but also the broader industry and the traveller.</p>
<p>Tan Sri Tony Fernandez, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air-Asia and Co-Founder of Tune Labs looks forward to this association as supportive and breakthrough move. By collaborating with the travel giant, that not only provides start-ups with initial support, the association will bring a self-attestation of much-needed validation to the growing venture.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;We are seeing a lot of startup talent in this region but many of them do not have the support and opportunities that their Western counterparts are getting. By collaborating with Amadeus, an equally enthusiastic partner, we can unleash the full potential of entrepreneurs in our region, allowing them to innovate, disrupt and achieve growth.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Albert Pozo, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific feels likewise.</p>
<blockquote><p>“Startups often disrupt the status quo by challenging and pushing technology to new frontiers. They play a significant role in shaping the future of travel and how we can evolve services and offerings to travellers. Partnering with Tune Labs is a huge milestone for Amadeus Next as we continue to build the leading travel tech startup community in Asia Pacific.”</p></blockquote>
<p>Amadeus Next associating with Tune Labs is a compelling step to provide opportunities to the innovators in travel space allowing them to expand new horizons.To know more about its partnership with TravHQ read <a href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/events/presenting-the-second-startup-knockdown-in-association-with-ficci-and-amadeus/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/amadeus-next-partners-with-tune-labs-to-gear-up-asia-pacific-travel-start-ups/">Amadeus Next partners with Tune Labs to gear up Asia Pacific travel start-ups</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>2015 Round-up: Most popular stories of the year</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/industry/spotlight/2015-round-up-most-popular-stories-of-the-year/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/industry/spotlight/2015-round-up-most-popular-stories-of-the-year/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Dec 2015 07:30:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Akshay Sharma]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Spotlight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[british airways]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[budget hotels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google car]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mittu Chandilya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[oyo rooms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stayzilla]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Taranjeet Singh]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Terrence Voon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tripadvisor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tripzilla]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Twitter]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=67315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>This has been an exciting year, for the travel industry as well as for us and that means we had plenty of stories to share. Newer brands made as many headlines as the established names and there were many highs and lows. Looking back at this year, we have created a round-up of our most...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/spotlight/2015-round-up-most-popular-stories-of-the-year/" title="Read2015 Round-up: Most popular stories of the year">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/spotlight/2015-round-up-most-popular-stories-of-the-year/">2015 Round-up: Most popular stories of the year</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p>This has been an exciting year, for the travel industry as well as for us and that means we had plenty of stories to share. Newer brands made as many headlines as the established names and there were many highs and lows.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-67318" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/round-up-1024x683.jpg" alt="round-up" width="900" height="600" /></p>
<p>Looking back at this year, we have created a round-up of our most popular stories to refresh the events just in case you missed them.</p>
<h3>#1- Plenty of investments</h3>
<p>Many travel startups got a strong start to the year 2015 with heavy investments by both foreign and domestic investors. While the investor activity slowed down near the end of year, there were some newsworthy investments earlier. We compiled an infographic of the funding raised by the popular travel startups in different categories. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/startup-feature/the-state-of-travel-startup-funding-in-india/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#2- Twitter lessons from AirAsia India MD &amp; CEO</h3>
<p>Mittu Chandilya is the young Indian at the helm of AirAsia in India. While working his plans to make India operations the largest of AirAsia subsidiaries, he also actively engages with the customers on social media to ensure quality of service and customer satisfaction. We spoke with him to learn a thing or two about using social media right for an airline brand. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-the-ceo-announced-over-twitter-mittu-chandilya-ceo-airasia-india/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#3- Year of budget stays</h3>
<p>Budget hotel startups were the highlight of this year. This segment saw the entry of multiple players trying to revolutionise the way we look at the low cost hotels but at which some of them picked up pace, it was clear that the OTAs won’t be happy. They were gaining the power to leverage volume to their advantage, something that wasn’t seen in the hotel space at this scale until now. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/opinions/will-budget-hotel-startups-eat-the-ota-pie/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#4- OTAs hit back</h3>
<p>Like we said, the OTAs didn’t appreciate the idea of letting the budget hotel aggregators feed on them. Before the startups could do serious damage, some major OTAs blocked them cutting one of their major source of bookings. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/news/otas-hit-back-at-the-hotel-startups-block-zo-and-oyo-rooms-from-listing/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#5- TripAdvisor takes a swing</h3>
<p>It is not at all easy for the OTAs. The hoteliers don&#8217;t like them even when they drive large share of bookings. Not only the budget hotels but their friend TripAdvisor also entered the same playground. Lower rate of commissions and better visibility were enough incentives for smaller players to skip their name and shake hands with TripAdvisor. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/opinions/ota-india-beware-tripadvisor-instant-booking/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#6- Conversation with Winnie Tan, Tripzilla</h3>
<p>The Singapore based company started in 2010 and quickly went on to become the favourite of outbound travellers in the region. Along with that they are also a good example to look for on how to use content right to inspire travellers. Recently they also launched a flight metasearch engine which gives the OTAs a pass and offers only direct deals. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-eric-koh-founder-ceo-tripzilla/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#7- Stayzilla shifted focus to alternative stays</h3>
<p>India based accommodation booking platform Stayzilla took a strong focus on homestays and other alternative stays options this year. With the message of ‘Make room for something new’, they are actively inviting the people to start adopting the fast approaching shared economy trend. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/news/stayzilla-plans-to-gun-down-airbnb-in-india/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#8- Marketing lessons by the industry experts</h3>
<p>There is something seriously wrong in following the patterns. There is no one strategy that can fit all brands and the marketers should stop pushing the same buttons. Marketing experts like Taranjeet Singh, Country Business Head, Twitter India and Terrence Voon, Director, Marketing Activation, Singapore Tourism Board shared some strong pointers for promoting a travel brand. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/guides/there-is-nothing-like-a-viral-marketing-campaign-taranjeet-singh-country-business-head-twitter-india/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#9- British Airways social media blooper</h3>
<p>British Airways made lot of news this year, social media campaigns, new Dreamliner place and more. But one social media mistake made the strongest headlines for them. British Airways got strong backlash on social media after they sent a predrafted tweet to cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and stayed for quite a while in the twitter trends. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/news/this-tweet-by-british-airways-to-indias-god-sachin-tendulkar-has-put-them-in-hall-of-shame/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<h3>#10- Technologies for the road</h3>
<p>Driverless cars, especially the Google ones were also in the headlines every now and then. If and when they come in, the travel industry will see major transformations. While we were waiting for these autonomous cars to arrive, we also listed down some other technologies that are coming to our cars soon. <a href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/technology/5-car-technologies-for-the-traveller-of-future/" target="_blank">Read full story</a>.</p>
<p><em>We have got lot of exciting things lined up for the year 2016 and for a start, we have already announced <a href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/events/travel-startups-gear-up-for-the-first-startup-knockdown-in-mumbai/" target="_blank">Startup Knockdown Mumbai</a> and there will be more coming soon.</em></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/spotlight/2015-round-up-most-popular-stories-of-the-year/">2015 Round-up: Most popular stories of the year</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>New DGCA regulation allows domestic carriers to offer ‘Zero bag’ fares</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/new-dgca-regulation-allows-domestic-carriers-to-offer-zero-bag-fares/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/news/new-dgca-regulation-allows-domestic-carriers-to-offer-zero-bag-fares/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Nov 2015 06:33:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Aekansh Malhotra]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[airline luggage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[baggage fee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[IndiGo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spicejet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[zero bag]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=65803</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>Only a few months after SpiceJet introduced the special discounted fares for passengers travelling without check-in luggage, DGCA has finally allowed domestic carriers to roll out ‘zero bag’ fares. They will now be allowed to charge penalty against the baggage for tickets booked under zero bag fares. All the domestic operators allow up to 15...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/new-dgca-regulation-allows-domestic-carriers-to-offer-zero-bag-fares/" title="ReadNew DGCA regulation allows domestic carriers to offer ‘Zero bag’ fares">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/new-dgca-regulation-allows-domestic-carriers-to-offer-zero-bag-fares/">New DGCA regulation allows domestic carriers to offer ‘Zero bag’ fares</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p>Only a few months after SpiceJet introduced the special discounted fares for passengers travelling without check-in luggage, DGCA has finally allowed domestic carriers to roll out ‘zero bag’ fares. They will now be allowed to charge penalty against the baggage for tickets booked under zero bag fares.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-65804" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/zero-bag-airlines-1024x683.jpg" alt="zero bag airlines" width="900" height="600" /></p>
<p>All the domestic operators allow up to 15 kgs of check-in luggage (except Air India which allows 23 kgs).</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Airlines are allowed to offer no check-in baggage/hand baggage only fare scheme subject to the condition that the penalty to be imposed on a passenger, who avails such schemes but turns up with baggage for check-in at airline counter, cannot exceed the amount of incentive offered compared to lowest fare,&#8221; Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in its updated Air Transport Circular for unbundling of services.</p></blockquote>
<p>Domestic carriers IndiGo, SpiceJet and AirAsia India had approached DGCA earlier with the “zero bag fare” but the plea was rejected after civil aviation ministry asked it to not allow the same. With this new development, SpiceJet commented that the move is in line with the changing trends in the industry. The SpiceJet scheme offered a discount of INR 200 to every passenger booking flight with no check-in luggage and just one handbag. However if they decide to carry check-in baggage, the fee was INR 500 for up to 10 kgs and INR 750 for up to 15 kgs.</p>
<p>With this new regulation in place, we will see domestic airlines come up with more offers for travellers travelling without check-in luggage. Business travellers take short haul flights for work and they often travel with just their handbag. These travellers will benefit from the &#8216;Zero bag&#8217; fares. Such regulations will also motivate travellers to travel light thus speeding up the processes at airport and also saving airlines some fuel costs. Expect the domestic carriers to come up with attractive zero bag discounts after this announcement.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/new-dgca-regulation-allows-domestic-carriers-to-offer-zero-bag-fares/">New DGCA regulation allows domestic carriers to offer ‘Zero bag’ fares</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>It appears to be an everyday Tweet by Spicejet COO, but there&#8217;s something special about it</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/news/it-appears-to-be-an-everyday-tweet-by-spicejet-coo-but-theres-something-special-about-it/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2015 07:40:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Aekansh Malhotra]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mittu Chandilya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sanjiv Kapoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spicejet]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=63666</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>The competition between low cost carriers in India is intense. Everyone is trying to get the biggest possible share out of the increasing number of domestic airline travellers. The space is dominated by IndiGo but SpiceJet and AirAsia India are two strong players. Sanjiv Kapoor, the COO of SpiceJet recently took an AirAsia India flight...  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/it-appears-to-be-an-everyday-tweet-by-spicejet-coo-but-theres-something-special-about-it/" title="ReadIt appears to be an everyday Tweet by Spicejet COO, but there&#8217;s something special about it">Read more &#187;</a></p>
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<p>The competition between low cost carriers in India is intense. Everyone is trying to get the biggest possible share out of the increasing number of domestic airline travellers. The space is dominated by IndiGo but SpiceJet and AirAsia India are two strong players.</p>
<p>Sanjiv Kapoor, the COO of SpiceJet recently took an AirAsia India flight and went to Twitter to appreciate their service and hospitality. He thanked their CEO Mittu Chadilya and his team for the experience in his tweet. Mittu Chadilya also reciprocated and thanked him for the same on Twitter. Only a few days before the tweet, Sanjiv Kapoor shared photos from Paro of a Druk Airline flight he took with Mittu Chandilya.</p>
<p>(Read: <a href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-the-ceo-announced-over-twitter-mittu-chandilya-ceo-airasia-india/" target="_blank">The young Indian who pilots AirAsia: Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India</a>)</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fantastic warmth and hospitality on <a href="https://twitter.com/airasiain">@airasiain</a> today, felt I was on <a href="https://twitter.com/flyspicejet">@flyspicejet</a>! <img src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/simple-smile.png" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/MittuChandilya">@MittuChandilya</a> and team! <a href="http://t.co/LdgHZb03pT">pic.twitter.com/LdgHZb03pT</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Sanjiv Kapoor (@SanjivKapoor90) <a href="https://twitter.com/SanjivKapoor90/status/639107864632520704">September 2, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thanks <a href="https://twitter.com/SanjivKapoor90">@SanjivKapoor90</a> was a pleasure having you onboard. Hope to see you again <a href="https://t.co/4eI8ba3b1H">https://t.co/4eI8ba3b1H</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Mittu Chandilya (@MittuChandilya) <a href="https://twitter.com/MittuChandilya/status/639111529032388608">September 2, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Paro runway as viewed on breath-taking approach. With lovely crew of Druk Air and <a href="https://twitter.com/MittuChandilya">@MittuChandilya</a> on an MMT outing. <a href="http://t.co/7C6qi3W5GG">pic.twitter.com/7C6qi3W5GG</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Sanjiv Kapoor (@SanjivKapoor90) <a href="https://twitter.com/SanjivKapoor90/status/637461770202820608">August 29, 2015</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The budget airline segment in India sees a lot of activity with Airlines competing against each other on price in a bid to achieve higher load factor. The overall domestic air passenger traffic took a jump of 29 percent during July to 67.45 lakh from 52.16 lakh with SpiceJet utilising 93.4 percent of its capacity. AirAsia India was running at a relatively lower 80.2 percent load. According to IATA, this increase in passenger traffic indicates improved connectivity and will contribute to the government’s efforts to make it easier to do business in India.</p>
<p><img class="alignnone wp-image-63247" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AirAsia-featured-e1442217663787-1024x632.jpg" alt="AirAsia featured" width="800" height="494" /></p>
<p>It is great to see brotherhood prevailing among the players in this highly competitive space though it appears to be in contrast with what happened last year. There was some friction in the industry when AirAsia entered the Indian airline industry last year. AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes hit out at IndiGo, the biggest player in Indian airline industry, for being a bully about the entry of AirAsia in India. SpiceJet COO Sanjiv Kapoor wrote about AirAsia in internal mails. He also took to Twitter to slam the new ‘foreigner’ for changing strategy every month and claiming full planes when they were running in low 70s. We have seen international carriers to get into spats openly but this was something new for the Indian market.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" width="550"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Interesting to see the new entrant foreign airline change strategy every month and claim full planes when loads in the low 70s&#8230;</p>
<p>&mdash; Sanjiv Kapoor (@SanjivKapoor90) <a href="https://twitter.com/SanjivKapoor90/status/515359165640744962">September 26, 2014</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Low cost Airlines like SpiceJet and AirAsia India have been trying to lure passengers this year by offering very attractive flight deals. SpiceJet hosted <a href="https://www.travhq.com/news/breaking-spicejet-announces-indias-first-mobile-only-air-ticket-flash-sale/" target="_blank">flash sale for airline tickets</a> earlier this year which was something new for the industry while AirAsia offered flight tickets across multiple routes starting at INR 999. The changing relations between these two low cost carriers could indicate good times ahead for the Indian aviation industry.</p>
<p>Featured image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rapidtravelchai/13916636776" target="_blank">SpiceJet</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rapidtravelchai/" target="_blank">rapidtravelchai</a>/ <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/news/it-appears-to-be-an-everyday-tweet-by-spicejet-coo-but-theres-something-special-about-it/">It appears to be an everyday Tweet by Spicejet COO, but there&#8217;s something special about it</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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		<title>The young Indian who pilots AirAsia: Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India</title>
		<link>https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-the-ceo-announced-over-twitter-mittu-chandilya-ceo-airasia-india/</link>
		<comments>https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-the-ceo-announced-over-twitter-mittu-chandilya-ceo-airasia-india/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2015 06:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Editorial]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AirAsia India]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anand Mahindra]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mittu Chandilya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Richard Branson]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tony Fernandes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.travhq.com/?p=63243</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p>His appointment as CEO was announced in a slightly unconventional style on Twitter. Born in Chennai, the young CEO of AirAsia has picked up variety of challenging management roles in the past. An MBA from INSEAD, he was one of the youngest general managers at Ingersoll Rand and then head of Egon Zehnder&#8217;s Asia-Pacific operations....  <a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-the-ceo-announced-over-twitter-mittu-chandilya-ceo-airasia-india/" title="ReadThe young Indian who pilots AirAsia: Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India">Read more &#187;</a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-the-ceo-announced-over-twitter-mittu-chandilya-ceo-airasia-india/">The young Indian who pilots AirAsia: Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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<p>His appointment as CEO was announced in a slightly unconventional style on Twitter. Born in Chennai, the young CEO of AirAsia has picked up variety of challenging management roles in the past. An MBA from INSEAD, he was one of the youngest general managers at Ingersoll Rand and then head of Egon Zehnder&#8217;s Asia-Pacific operations. After being appointed the CEO of AirAsia India, he is working up the plans to make India operations the largest of AirAsia subsidiaries. In addition to his role as CEO, he was recently chosen to become the Managing Director and Tony Fernandes <a href="https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/634655442195517440" target="_blank">announced it on Twitter</a>.</p>
<div id="attachment_63245" style="width: 535px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="wp-image-63245" src="https://www.travhq.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/AirAsia-Mittu-683x1024.jpg" alt="AirAsia" width="525" height="787" /><p class="wp-caption-text">Mittu Chandilya, CEO &amp; MD, AirAsia India</p></div>
<p>While many airlines try to control the social media communication, AirAsia India and their young CEO embrace various social platforms. They have been leveraging Twitter to communicate better with their passengers and ensure that the guests aren&#8217;t unheard. We got a chance to have a conversation with Mittu Chandilya about the importance of Twitter in their industry and how he personally uses the platform. Here is an excerpt from the conversation.</p>
<h3>You normally tweet when __________</h3>
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<p>I feel like it (spontaneous) or feel it necessary to share insights, experiences and/or communicate to my followers something that I believe would be engaging and interesting for them. I strongly believe that the use of social media should be genuine and that means it should not be scripted and rehearsed. It is meant to give people a inside look and share with them experiences that hopefully is meaningful, fun and interesting to them. Spontaneous, instinctual and sometimes random is what makes its interesting.</p>
<h3>Tell us about your twitter journey and its impact on your image as the CEO of AirAsia India.</h3>
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<p>I have always been on social media. It is an extension of my personality. So I am open, direct and genuine in that medium as I am in my daily employee, customer or shareholder engagements. It is a combination of both my professional views and my personal life as I am more than a CEO of a company primarily like most folks there I am person with distinct views, experiences and a voice. So Twitter is an extension of my normal personality. Most leaders are getting into the use of social media however I know there is a lot of skeptical and apprehensions there on what to share or not to. I may be different in that sense.</p>
<h3>The airline industry is a very sensitive one when it comes to the usage of Twitter. On many occasions, they have been questioned for information accuracy during crisis communication. Your thoughts?</h3>
<p>Anytime you are dealing with safety and security and lives of people it&#8217;s not something you take lightly. Accuracy of information is critical however speed to respond and communicate is equally important. It is not meant to be PR but rather direct communication. Often times Airlines tend to try and manage the communication. There are different departments and mediums for that. Social media is to be their wish your guests/ passengers and listen and be heard. It is an ecosystem where you are one participant. This needs to be understood and adopted.</p>
<p>On the flip side, There can also be a lot of noise/ chatter out there in social media which you have to respond to but need to quickly sort through to figure out what is genuine and what is just noise. Just like Big Data mining through to get good data is critical. In Our Customer service channels we have had some folks who know we are active on social media and so just think screaming on an issue again and again while copying others legitimises their case. In most cases it works in the contrary and yet we are sensitive about not putting personal information of our guest out there and sorting through noise firmly and quickly.</p>
<h3>Do you have an internal corporate communications team that handles social media channels such as Twitter or you work with an agency partner?</h3>
<p>Our social media team consists of one person handling our official Twitter and Facebook accounts and they work closely with me. I handle my accounts personally. We have recently taken an agency to help with creatives and broader strategy but access to our handle and execution is still done by our one person team.</p>
<h3>Does your team receive any twitter management lessons from the global team at AirAsia?</h3>
<p>No we don&#8217;t. We are fairly entrepreneurial both here in India as well as in the Group; so don&#8217;t have training setups or formal lessons. We learn as we go and I spend a lot of time with our social media, customer service and marketing teams.</p>
<h3>Has there been one incident where you felt you could have handle the issue better? Do you personally get involved with issue resolution (Customer queries on Twitter)?</h3>
<p>I believe in trying to reply to everyone that reaches out to me on Twitter. However on Customer/ Guest Service queries when tweeted to me I ensure our team picks it up immediately and replies. I make it is point not to answer those directly from my handle. We have professionals who are in the system to handle that and I believe that is the appropriate channel and way to handle that. Customer questions and comments I usually engage myself.</p>
<h3>Someone whom you know is doing a great job on Twitter _____</h3>
<p>Frankly a lot of leaders are getting into twitter and a lot of folks are using it better and teaching us the way. My favourites just in terms of breaking conventions and creating engagement would be <a href="https://twitter.com/richardbranson" target="_blank">Richard Branson</a>, Our Honourable <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi" target="_blank">PM Narendra Modi</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/anandmahindra" target="_blank">Anand Mahindra</a>, Dwayne &#8220;The Rock&#8221; Johnson and of course <a href="https://twitter.com/tonyfernandes" target="_blank">Tony Fernandes</a>.</p>
<h3>That one memorable tweet which you would like to share with TravHQ is _________</h3>
<p>There have been a few good ones and memorable; however I remember Tony&#8217;s tweet on 4th Mar 2013 hidden announcement on my initial appointment because of the buzz it created and speculation it followed:</p>
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<p dir="auto">&#8220;I have selected our CEO for Airasia India. Very smart boy from the south, madras. An amazing CV. Will impress all that meet. A real winner. That will bring new meaning to competition.&#8221;</p>
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<p>And its follow up reveal on 14th May 2013:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Mittu is coming home to change Indian travel and make it affordable for all Indians to fly&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Because it appropriately captured my own precise reason for choosing this role and the expectations set for me by our board.</p>
<p><em>TravHQ team congratulates Mittu Chandilya for his appointment as MD of AirAsia India and wishes him good luck for the way ahead. You can find him on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/MittuChandilya" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>(Featured image: &#8220;AirAsiaA320&#8243; by Jyi1693 at en.wikipedia. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AirAsiaA320.jpg#/media/File:AirAsiaA320.jpg" target="_blank" data-rel="lightbox-0">Commons</a>)</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com/industry/interviews/in-conversation-with-the-ceo-announced-over-twitter-mittu-chandilya-ceo-airasia-india/">The young Indian who pilots AirAsia: Mittu Chandilya, CEO, AirAsia India</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.travhq.com">TravHQ</a>.</p>
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