We don’t know about you, but it seems obvious to us that the world is in the grips of ICO frenzy right now. Across seemingly every industry, countless companies are looking into blockchain technology as a means to improve business operations. Just recently we spoke about Playboy and Telegram, which shows you the scope of ICO interest amongst big-name brands. The latest name looking to join the crypto-craze is AirAsia, with the company seeing an ICO as the answer to its current business model costing issues.
Looking to shift the share price
AirAsia is a true pioneer of low-cost air travel, with its name now rightfully ranking amongst the world’s more popular airlines. Like with any budget airline, it faces challenges relating to costing – specifically how to keep costs as low as possible. Latest reports have revealed that AirAsia sees an ICO as the perfect way to “take cost out” of its current business model. In a recent TechCrunch interview – that took place at the popular Money20/20 Asia conference – Tony Fernandes (AirAsia CEO) revealed that he feels that the AirAsia share price is being held back by its current structure. “One of the reasons I think our share prices have always been held back a little bit is that we have a complicated structure. We’ve done a lot in terms of cleaning it up, but now, with the formation of AirAsia Group, I’ve really got the currency to talk to leaders to try and create a 100-percent owned ASEAN airline,” Fernandes said.
Giving loyalty a new twist
Airlines have always placed a large degree of emphasis on loyalty schemes, with this being AirAsia’s apparent focus. Fernandes stated that the company’s plan was to link its growing loyalty scheme to a new payment platform, “We have two things that are very interesting which will have relevance to ICOs, one is our loyalty card where we have ‘BIG Points,’ and I think those ‘BIG Points’ can be easily transferred to the blockchain.” Following a similar track to several other companies, it appears that AirAsia is looking to link any new ICO with a loyalty scheme revamp.
Embracing the crypto frenzy
The ICO market is expanding rapidly, with AirAsia being another name to add to a very long list of companies that have ICO plans. Telegram has probably set the benchmark, with its record-breaking $850 million pre-sale, but this could only be a sign of things to come with more and more names looking to enter the cryptocurrency space. This is all happening despite growing scrutiny of ICO regulation from global governments. Even with pressures increasing, Fernandes is confident that AirAsia can manage an ICO launch within the present and future crypto climate. He said, “We’re in the most regulated industry in the world, so we know how to deal with regulators and regulations.”
AirAsia makes its ICO intentions clear
While AirAsia’s CEO has made his intentions clear, details remain light on how much the company intends to raise should the ICO become a reality. It must also be noted that AirAsia is based in Malaysia, a country that has recently launched new regulations for cryptos. Under these regulations, government officials have vowed to keep a watchful eye over all current and new ICO schemes. What this all means is that if AirAsia really wants to press forward with an ICO, it’s going to have to jump plenty of hurdles in order to do so.
