Philippines AirAsia offers delectable new deal with Santan inflight menu concept

Source: AirAsia. Santan is Philippines AirAsia's new
inflight menu concept.

Philippines AirAsia has begun serving hot meals from its newest inflight menu concept, themed Santan. Halal-certified Santan replaces AirAsia Café as part of the airline’s latest offerings to enhance customer experience while flying. The name refers to an essential ingredient in Malay cooking, the liquid obtained from pressing shredded coconut meat. Santan is thick, creamy and often use as a substitute for butter, cream or soup stock in ASEAN cooking.

New items include bangus sisig, a Filipino dish made of chunks of boneless milkfish sautéed in onions seasoned with salt, pepper and spices; buffalo chicken strips and barbeque cola beef, grilled meat with smoky sauce paired with tomato rice or roasted potatoes; and the low-calorie vegetarian chickpea curry and classic Maan’s pasta arabiata. The dishes are available for onboard and prebooked purchases on all Philippines AirAsia flights to/from Manila, Kalibo/Boracay, Palawan, Bohol, Cebu, Davao, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea.

Other dishes on the menu also pay tribute to ASEAN flavours. These include nasi lemak, chicken rice, beef caldereta and adobo. Guests can also choose from sweets such as lemon torte, banoffee cake, sinful chocolate cake and chocolate chip cookies from as low as P80 for onboard purchase.

Philippines AirAsia Commercial Head, Gerard Peñaflor said, “We value customer experience at all points of the journey – from the purchase of the ticket to leaving the airport, on board, and onto the destination. This latest enhancement in our inflight menu makes flying with us also a delightful dining experience.”

Interested?

AirAsia guests are encouraged to prebook their meals to save up to 20% as compared to purchasing their meals on board, with a guarantee that their preferred meals are available during their flights. Guests who have booked their flights without meals, meanwhile, can easily add them in via the ‘Manage My Booking’ option after logging in to www.airasia.com.

AirAsia discusses social enterprises at Destination: Good this November

Source: AirAsia Foundation website.

This November 7, the AirAsia Foundation will be holding a social enterprise-related conference and marketplace at Nexus Bangsar South, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Destination: Good – ASEAN Social Enterprise 2015 is the first public event organised by AirAsia Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AirAsia group, to kickstart a conversation on how big businesses and social enterprises can play a role in building equitable, sustainable and inclusive economies.

Panelists at the conference include AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandez as well as Richard Eu, Group CEO of Eu Yan Sang International, Vichien Phongsathorn, Group CEO of the Premier Group of Companies and Enrique Razon Jr, Chairman and CEO of Manila's International Container Services.

The marketplace will feature 30 top ASEAN social enterprises, such as Bettr Barista Coffee Academy, the Rags2Riches and traditional art performers from Cambodia Living Arts.

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AirAsia, AirAsia X introduce enhanced inflight menu

Source: AirAsia.

AirAsia and AirAsia X have launched a new inflight menu concept themed Santan, replacing AirAsia Café as part of the airline group’s move towards being a high value carrier and providing its guests with an enhanced gourmet experience while flying.

There are new items such as nasi dagang* and chicken curry, a Malaysian dish from the East Coast which is now available on for on-board purchase and pre-book on both AirAsia and AirAsia X flights. Other items available for on-board purchase on AirAsia flights include teriyaki chicken rice cake, smoked chicken pizza sandwich; while new pre-book meals are tomato rice with ayam percik*, chicken satay wrap and vegetable pasta with roast chicken.

AirAsia X has also included mee goreng mamak* in its pre-book selection as part of introducing more Malaysian and Asean dishes to its guests.

Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia commented, “Food is a big thing for us. Look at how we have made Pak Nasser nasi lemak* into a brand itself. We have people travelling from all across the region wanting to order our nasi lemak and this Malaysian dish is a standout in our inflight menu. 

"Our food is as good as restaurant food – it’s not just inflight food and this is what we want to achieve with Santan – introduce a new gourmet inflight dining experience which features cuisines from across ASEAN. We are starting with AirAsia and AirAsia X flights after the launch... but we will be implementing this across the whole group by October.”

Apart from the new pre-book meals on AirAsia Berhad (AK) flights, guests are now able to add a sweet ending to the meal of their choice with the introduction of the Maximise Your Meal option which includes a salted caramel cookie bar and a Kit Kat for RM7.

Those travelling with children on both AirAsia Berhad (AK) and AirAsia X Berhad (D7) flights can now pre-book the Kids Meal which consists of two mini chicken burgers and Ribena.

“While we continue to give low fares to our guests, we are increasing the value with new product offerings such as Premium Flex, Premium Flatbed, and the introduction of this new gourmet experience on board is part of us moving in that direction,” added Fernandes.

Interested?

All AirAsia and AirAsia X guests are encouraged to pre-book their meals to save up to 20% as compared to purchasing their meals on board, with a guarantee that their preferred meals are available. Guests who have booked their flights without meals can easily add them in via the Manage My Booking option after logging in to airasia.com.

*Food glossary
Ayam percik is grilled or roasted spiced chicken.
Mee goreng mamak is fried noodles, Indian style.
Nasi dagang consists of rice steamed in coconut milk, fish curry, and other dishes.
Nasi lemak consists of rice steamed in coconut milk, fried fish or chicken, and other dishes.

AirAsia creates synergy with Indonesia's PBMT

Source: AirAsia. The Letter of Intent (LOI) between AirAsia and PBMT Indonesia was signed by AirAsia Berhad CEO, Aireen Omar, AirAsia Indonesia President Director, Sunu Widyatmoko, and President of PBMT, Jularso. It was witnessed by AirAsia Group CEO, Tony Fernandes, AirAsia X Group CEO, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and President Director of PBMT Ventura, Saat Suharto Amjad.

AirAsia and Perhimpunan BMT (PBMT) Indonesia have signed an agreement to support the development of productive communities in Indonesia with the aim of generating positive social impact.

Productive communities are where the impoverished are being engaged in productive activities, enabling them to sustain themselves and to improve their standards of living in the long-term. According to Indonesia’s Central Statistics Agency (BPS), as of September 2014, 27.73 million Indonesians or 10.96% of the country’s total population live below the poverty line. The development of productive communities is therefore pivotal to address such social issues.

AirAsia has established operations in five countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and India. The airline’s mission is to serve the underserved through low fares and extensive connectivity. PBMT is one of the largest shari'ah microfinance groups in the world, with the objective to eradicate poverty by developing productive communities in Indonesia through various financial products and services, economic empowerment programmes and social activities.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said, “We are pleased to enter into a collaborative partnership with PBMT Indonesia in developing productive communities. AirAsia and PBMT share similar values - to give hope, to realise dreams, and to create opportunities for everyone to improve their quality of life. AirAsia was established because we had a dream to democratise the aviation industry and today, we are making hundreds of millions of dreams come true. This collaboration reinforces our commitment to fostering socio-economic development in Indonesia, and is also one of our ways of giving back to the community in the market that we serve.”

“We will also explore other opportunities for PBMT members with other companies within our group such as Tune Hotels and Tune Money,” Fernandes added.

The President of PBMT Jularso said, “This collaboration will bring our productive community development programmes to the next level as the synergies created from the collaboration will open doors to new ideas, resources and opportunities. Furthermore, this collaboration will also allow both organisations to significantly increase their social impact, especially on micro and small enterprises and the underprivileged people.”

The partnership between AirAsia and PBMT will see both parties leverage on each other’s resources and market presence. AirAsia is today the largest airline in Asia serving more than 200 routes to over 100 destinations in 22 countries, while PBMT’s network is spread across Indonesia with more than 700 branches nationwide and a membership of more than 2.2 million consisting mainly of micro and small enterprises.

The collaborative agreement will include an opportunity for micro entrepreneurs under PBMT to promote and sell their products such as meals, drinks and merchandises on board AirAsia flights.

Members of PBMT will also be provided with the facility to travel affordably across AirAsia's extensive network. AirAsia’s low fares will enable PBMT members to further develop their business ventures, visit their relatives, and Indonesian workers in Malaysia to return home more often, resulting to a boost in intra-Indonesia travels.

Additionally, AirAsia will provide an opportunity for PBMT members to sell AirAsia’s products and services. In supporting this initiative, AirAsia will develop coaching programmes and training modules for the members of PBMT, including but not limited to product knowledge transfer, management workshops, brand forums and sales training. In doing so, AirAsia equips PBMT members with the necessary skills and knowledge to successfully and effectively grow their businesses.