AirAsia Wins World’s Best Air Cargo Industry Customer Care Award

AirAsia Wins World’s Best Air Cargo Industry Customer Care Award for 2 Consecutive Years!

KUALA LUMPUR, 8 JUNE 2012 – AirAsia was named winner of the ‘Air Cargo Industry Customer Care Award 2012’ in Shanghai, China this week, beating the likes of Emirates, Qatar and Etihad for the title.

AirAsia received the award from Air Cargo Week (ACW), a respected UK-based air cargo news publication, after emerging first in a global survey that polled industry peers and shippers. Apart from the industry votes, AirAsia was also measured on three key criterions: Proactive approach to customer service, effective strategy for problem resolution & defined and measurable customer care policy.

AirAsia won the same accolade in Munich, Germany last year; making it the first airline to have won the award two-years in a row and the first ever low cost carrier to be awarded this global recognition.

The award ceremony was held during the World Air Cargo Awards event, which gathered executives from the air cargo community, airports, airlines, shippers, suppliers and service providers from around the world.

Sathis Manoharen, Regional Head of Cargo of AirAsia and AirAsia X, received the award on behalf of the airline.

Sathis said, “This award reflects how strongly the AirAsia brand has grown in the air cargo segment. We are relatively new in cargo, yet we have established value added services and become a leader of innovation in many aspects of this industry. We are proud to be recognized globally, and we are taking this win as a renewal of our commitment in offering high quality cargo service at equitable prices. We will continue to innovate to better serve our markets.”

“This award has debunked the myth that low cost means low quality. We have spent a great deal of time calibrating our processes which are now metronomic in nature. We are above industry average in terms of cargo delivery efficiency at 92% for 2011 and 94% for 1st Quarter 2012. We are pleased this is being recognised by industry peers, shippers, forwarders and manufacturers as the World’s Best customer care for cargo” he added.
It is noteworthy to mention that AirAsia is the only low-cost airline/ASEAN-based airline to win an award at the ceremony.

This is the third time for AirAsia to win an ACW World Air Cargo Award. In 2010, it was named the Air Cargo Industry “New Comer of the Year”. AirAsia Cargo has also won Fastest Growing Foreign Cargo Airline by Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou and Asia’s Best Low Cost Cargo Carrier award by Aviation Awards Asia in Hong Kong in 2011.

AirAsia’s cargo services spans across the entire ASEAN region and extends to East Asia, South Asia, Oceania, and Europe.

AirAsia identifies cargo as a major revenue-generating channel and a huge contributor to its ancillary income. The airline is optimizing the potential of its aircraft belly space to bring in revenue, by offering cargo services at rates considerably lower than its competitors. By tapping into AirAsia’s extensive network and flight frequencies, the airline manages to reach more destinations and achieve faster delivery time.

AirAsia is also strengthening cargo operations in part to protect its bottom line against fluctuations in fuel prices, actively engaging with more cargo agents and sizable export-import firms in the markets that AirAsia flies to. It is also reaching markets beyond its current route network through other airlines in which AirAsia has special pro-rate agreements. These major airlines extend AirAsia’s reach to more cities in East Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

AirAsia’s most popular cargo commodities are perishables, machinery parts, electronics and apparels.