KUALA LUMPUR, June 9 — AirAsia Digital’s logistic venture, Teleport, is expanding its capacity by operating its first air freighter, a Boeing 737-800F, and the conversion of two AirAsia’s Airbus A320 passenger aircraft with seats removed for increased capacity.

In a statement today, AirAsia said the freighter would begin operations across Asia beginning from the third quarter of 2021 from the Teleport hub in Bangkok.

"The additional capacity will strengthen its route network between China, India and Southeast Asia and offer improved connectivity to and from Teleport’s long-haul markets.

"The two A320 planes with seats removed will be based in Malaysia and Thailand. From the two strategic hubs in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, they will continue their schedule to key cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Yangon,” it said.

Teleport chief operating officer Adrian Loretz said the expansion is part of its strategy to build the capacity and connectivity to offer 24 hours door-to-door delivery across Southeast Asia.

"It was evident at the end of last year that the demand for cargo capacity was not going to be served with passenger belly capacity alone in the long run. So, we evaluated the option to utilise dedicated freighters to transport cargo,” he said.

He added that the types of planes Teleport use are great at handling the current surge in demand for e-commerce and other cargo and the group wanted to build its network with the dedicated cargo capacity. — Bernama