AirAsia Group has made yet another move to diversify beyond the friendly skies.
It has introduced its in-flight menu to terra firma.
Its inflight meals are now available to order on the ground at Santan Restaurant and T&CO Cafe, which opened at Kuala Lumpur’s Mid Valley Megamall.
It is the first of up to five franchise-operated restaurants expected by the end of next year and it plans to have 100 open within three to five years.
Santan is the name of its in-flight menu and the restaurant will include its signature Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak and Uncle Chin’s Chicken Rice.
It also features dishes from across Southeast Asia from Thailand to Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
T&CO is AirAsia’s majority owned coffee business.
It has leveraged tech to offer online booking and plans to roll out its own food delivery app in association with delivery services Foodpanda and GrabFood.
"We wanted to be a lifestyle brand and not just an airline brand. We can’t be a lifestyle brand without food. Our airline food has been successful and we are the first airline ever to commercialise our food," GrpupCEO Tony Fernandes said.
Fernandes also said a franchised Santan location will soon open in China.
It also wants to bring the restaurant brand to Europe and North America in the future.
