KUALA LUMPUR (June 14): Teleport, the logistics arm of AirAsia Group Bhd's airasia digital, has seen revenue return to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2021 (1Q21), thanks to e-commerce growth that has been accelerated by the pandemic.

AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said Teleport's revenue tripled in 1Q21 versus 4Q20, "back to pre-pandemic revenue and growing faster than before". It did not disclose the revenue figure.

"We now have a dedicated freighter and have converted two Airbus A320 passenger aircraft to provide cargo-only services to facilitate rapid forecast growth in Asean and beyond," he said in a statement today.

Teleport said that last year, digital e-commerce sales grew by 28% globally. "The trend is expected to gain further momentum as consumers continue to embrace e-commerce, which is expected to amount to over 3 billion users in Asia by 2025," it added.

Leveraging AirAsia's wide network in Southeast Asia is a key competitive advantage for Teleport, Fernandes said, adding that its ground services are connected to the budget airline’s expansive air network to deliver logistics throughout the region.

Since launching door-to-door delivery services in 77 cities in five countries by the end of 2020, Teleport has successfully delivered cargo and other consumer products in under 24 hours on routes between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

It will be expanding its 24-hour delivery services soon from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Melaka, Johor and Ipoh, as well as other international and domestic routes in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Teleport operates a Boeing 737-800 freighter and has converted two A320 passenger aircraft for increased capacity of freight delivery in 3Q21.

"The additional capacity of these three cargo-only planes and connection with other third party airlines, freighters, trucks and vans will strengthen Teleport’s capabilities, not only on existing short haul routes, but also in key markets like China, India and new markets throughout Southeast Asia," said Teleport.