AirAsia’s cargo and logistics unit, Teleport, introduced its first Airbus A321 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) converted aircraft.
The aircraft was introduced during an event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where it will be based, on July 13, 2023. Teleport will be introducing additional A321P2Fs in Q4 2023 and Q1 2023, with the goal to leverage “Teleport’s multi-hub operating model”.
“We saw our growth accelerate in the past 24 months, where we have scaled a company that is profitable and on track to generate US$200M in annual revenues – it is fitting to celebrate these milestones on the same day as the arrival of the first of three A321Fs this year,” said Pete Chareonwongsak, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Teleport.
“This is not only a testament to their hard work and dedication in the ever-challenging logistics industry, but a win for all of us at Capital A as it validates our diversification and growth strategy to be a value driven, low cost, high quality aviation and travel group, said Tony Fernandes, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Capital A Berhad, the parent company of AirAsia and Teleport.
According to the company, the two additional A321P2Fs will allow Teleport to have the flexibility to deploy them from any major hub in the region, including Bangkok, Thailand, Jakarta, Indonesia, or Manila, the Philippines.
The Airbus A321P2F, registered as 9M-TLA, was converted at San Antonio International Airport (SAT), Texas, the United States (US) between December 2021 and April 2023, according to planespotters.net data. It arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) in June 2023 upon delivery to AirAsia, which will operate the freighter on behalf of Teleport.
Teleport was founded in 2018, with accelerated growth in the past 24 months resulting in an ever-increasing market share in Southeast Asia. According to AirAsia, Teleport has three unique advantages against its competition, namely the largest air logistics network in the region, a focus on digitalization and data, and a continuous stream of third-party airline agreements.