TravTalk India Online Magazine
In a world where travellers crave simplicity and personalisation, AirAsia MOVE is rewriting the rules. This new platform is a glimpse into how airlines like AirAsia are evolving into dynamic travel ecosystems. By merging flight bookings, hotels, events, and community-driven experiences on one app, AirAsia MOVE isn’t just making travel easier; it’s changing how the entire travel community connects, sells, and experiences journeys.
Devika Jeet
In an era where airlines are racing to evolve beyond ticket sales, AirAsia has taken a bold leap. With AirAsia MOVE, the brand has built what could become the future template for travel, an ecosystem where an airline transforms into a full-fledged online travel agent (OTA), and eventually, a social travel app.
The journey began well before the pandemic. Originally AirAsia’s digital marketing and technology arm, the team behind MOVE built and ran the airline’s website and app. When COVID hit, they pivoted quickly, creating the airasia Superapp, a multi-service platform that offered food delivery and ride-hailing to safeguard jobs across the organisation. Post-pandemic, the platform evolved into AirAsia MOVE, shifting focus entirely to travel and building a unified ecosystem for flyers across Asia.
As Nadia Omer, CEO, AirAsia MOVE, explains, the idea came from a clear realisation. “Airlines were losing direct bookings to OTAs. Budget carriers, in particular, depend heavily on ancillary revenues like seat upgrades, meals, or baggage. When OTAs take over ticket sales, that revenue disappears. We wanted to change that model.”
That shift has now given rise to one of the most ambitious airline-led travel platforms in the world. MOVE sells not only AirAsia flights but also tickets from other airlines, hotels, and soon, events and experiences. It’s a first-of-its-kind transformation for an airline evolving into a travel marketplace built on data, loyalty, and community.
At its core, MOVE is about shared value. “We want airlines to make money, but we also want them to share the benefits,” Omer says. The platform’s algorithms predict what travellers are most likely to buy, achieving a 60% ancillary attach rate; double that of most OTAs. This means more value for airlines and a richer experience for travellers.
The app already includes check-ins, duty-free pre-orders, and travel content from tourism boards. Next, MOVE plans to expand its social travel features, allowing users to connect over shared interests from food to hiking to concerts. Over a million users have already joined travel groups within the app, signalling what Omer calls “the future of connected travel.”
India, too, is central to that vision. With a team in Bengaluru, AirAsia MOVE is working to localise payments and forge partnerships with local airlines and tourism boards. “India can’t be treated as one market; it has to be understood state by state,” Omer says. “But we see huge potential here.”
In many ways, AirAsia MOVE represents where the travel industry is headed; beyond booking engines and into a space where convenience, community, and consciousness move together.
AirAsia MOVE Highlights
- Began as AirAsia’s digital arm, managing its website and app
- Pivoted during COVID as the AirAsia Superapp, safeguarding jobs
- Now a full-fledged OTA, focusing purely on travel
- India named a strategic growth market
- Moving towards a social-travel app model
