PHL AirAsia, GCash partner to ease payments experience for travelers

LOW-COST carrier Philippines AirAsia, Inc. and GCash, the mobile wallet arm of Globe Telecom, Inc., anticipate air travel demand to jump once quarantine restrictions are relaxed further.

They said customers now prefer cashless transactions for hygiene purposes.

“This is just one of the ways we are making air travel more accessible, and I’m sure this partnership will bring game-changing initiatives in the near future,” said Martha M. Sazon, president and chief executive officer of Mynt (Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc.), the fintech arm of Globe and operator of mobile wallet GCash, at a virtual media event on Monday.

Philippines AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Ricardo P. Isla said: “All of our efforts are driven by a very strong recovery.”

“Our partnership with GCash, the country’s leading e-wallet, empowers our guests with flexible cashless options as we all gear up to fly again to our favorite leisure destinations,” he added.

With the partnership, Philippines AirAsia customers can now secure mobile payments online through the GCash app, via the AirAsia’s “super app” or by logging on to airasia.com.

On the airline’s website, customers can select their flights and add-ons and proceed to the payment page where they can pay via GCash on the “Wallet” tab.

GCash can also be used to pay for AirAsia shop purchases such as travel essentials.

AirAsia Group Berhad has said it expects domestic operations in the Philippines to be below 25% of pre-pandemic levels until at least September while the population awaits widespread vaccination against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Month-on-month operations in the Philippines has improved with a 57% increase in passengers in March, although this was lower than the 85% increase seen by AirAsia Malaysia.

Philippines AirAsia is also eyeing travel incentives for fully vaccinated individuals to help stir up demand. — Arjay L. Balinbin