AirAsia will use blockchain for travel rewards, says CFO Raymund Berja to CoinGeek Backstage

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Air travel is gradually marching towards previous highs after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the industry to its knees. With the travel boom has come fierce competition between airlines, and AirAsia plans to leverage blockchain for its rewards system to gain an edge in the Asian air travel sector.

AirAsia started its operations in 1996 in Malaysia, and in the two decades since, it has become one of the most prominent players in the Asian market. It now serves over 165 destinations and has been named the world’s best low-cost airline for 13 consecutive years.

Speaking with CoinGeek Backstage reporter Claire Celdran, CFO Raymund Berja revealed that the carrier is bouncing back after a few tough years due to the pandemic. It is also expanding to South Korea and China.

Berja also leads the AirAsia Super App, “the digital pivot business that allows users to book hotels, flights, purchase duty-free products and more.” The app also offers users in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia ride and food delivery services.

AirAsia is integrating blockchain into its operations, Berja said. The airline has an existing rewards system that “we want to spin off via blockchain technology.” Users can use earned points to book flights and hotels.

“I think blockchain technology will give us that kind of flexibility in a more robust platform. That [project] is in the pipeline at our AirAsia headquarters in Malaysia.”

Berja added that the airline has not yet decided on the blockchain network to build on, but is leaning more toward a private database “and then spinning it off with blockchain technology.”

“The direction of the group is to work with someone who has a better understanding and who can help us build a more robust product; we are open to it.”

Building on the Bitcoin SV blockchain will allow the airline to leverage the network’s unlimited scaling to serve its millions of customers seamlessly. With air travel being a time-sensitive industry where a fifteen-minute delay can translate into a missed flight, only Bitcoin SV’s real-time transactions and very low fees (a fraction of a penny per transaction) can deliver the benefits of a blockchain network.

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