Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group said it is considering the launch of a flying taxi business as soon as next year and also a drone delivery service in regional cities.

Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia Group said it is considering launching its flight taxi business as soon as next year. It is known that this taxi service can carry up to four passengers. In addition, the airline also conducts delivery by drone in cities in the region.

Currently, the service is still in beta. The project will be implemented through a phased approach over six months. The first phase will be assessed on the capabilities, experience, approval process, availability, and service expansion of the drone operators.

If the test phase is successful, the service will be deployed. The first commercial delivery service will be provided by Teleport, the logistics company of AirAsia later this year.

The moves are additional steps towards diversifying the airline’s business as air travel demand has hit rock bottom amid the coronavirus pandemic. As a countermeasure, AirAsia has been expanding in the digital space and launched a “super app” last year which offers services from travel and shopping to logistics, ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payments.

According to Investvine