Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (Vietjet) will team up with Swift 247, a technology start-up providing super express air delivery service (Swift247) and Singapore-based ride-hailing company Grab to develop solutions for connecting road and air travel to customers across Southeast Asia.
Following a Memorandum of Understanding inked between the companies in HCM City last week, the new partnership will also co-operate in providing super express delivery services in the Vietnamese
market.
“This strategic partnership marks the first collaboration between Vietjet and Grab with the aim of offering the Vietnamese market the best quality services, bringing the highest benefits to
customers and the community,” Vietjet said in a statement.
Seamless connection of road and air services
The partnership allows Vietjet and Grab to leverage their technological advantages to develop low-cost solutions for road and air mobility. They will focus on the research and development of
digital platform integration between the two and also expand the cooperation not only in Vietnam but also in other Southeast Asian markets.
With technological solutions from Swift247, Grab and Vietjet will be able to connect air services with road transport for super express delivery services. In the first phase, Swift247 customers
will be able to deliver goods quickly via GrabExpress delivery services on the Grab platform and Vietjet aircraft within five hours between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Customers can track the
delivery on a website and the Swift247 app.
Partners promise new service experience
In a speech at the signing ceremony of the MoU, Vietjet president and CEO Nguyễn Thị Phượng Thảo said she believed that this partnership will bring in new changes in the local delivery market,
and create unique experiences for consumers, and meet the increasing demand for good delivery services.
“We are witnessing a partnership between an airline with the largest number of domestic passengers in Vietnam and an e-hailing app with the most extensive driver partner fleet in Southeast Asia
and a next generation startup,” she added.
Tommy Nguyen, a representative of Swift247, said with Vietjet's domestic and international network and Grab’s position and extensive driver-partners and user base, customers will be able to
experience a convenient and reliable delivery service, supported by technology.
Large investments announced
With more than 400 daily flights and 129 routes covering local and international destinations including Vietnam, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, Vietjet also provides domestic and
international cargo services.
In a related development, Grab has announced it will invest an extra US$500 million into Vietnam over the next five years to grow in Vietnam and tap opportunities in fintech, new mobility
solutions and logistics as the company expands its transport, food-delivery and payments network across Southeast Asia.
A report in the Nikkei Asian Review quoted Grab's head of regional operations, Russell Cohen as saying that the investment "really is the beginning of (the) second phase of our journey in
Vietnam."
Valued at US$14 billion and backed by Japanese tech investor SoftBank Group, Grab began in 2012 as a taxi-booking app, gradually diversifying into e-payments, micro-lending and insurance. The
company currently operates in eight countries in Southeast Asia and in Vietnam it has over 1,000 staff, including more than 100 engineers at its research and development center in Ho Chi Minh
City. The company hopes to hire another 50 engineers by the end of the year.
Nol van Fenema
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