Singapore Airlines, Grab Integrate mobile apps

Singapore Airlines and regional ridesharing giant Grab announced a partnership on their mobile platforms and loyalty points.

The companies, in a joint statement, said they had integrated their mobile apps, allowing customers to book Grab rides via the Singapore Air mobile app for trips to the airport. This will be allowed in six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to both companies, Singapore Airlines’ mobile app users will see an option to book a Grab ride to the airport seven days before their scheduled flight.

This option will then direct customers to the Grab app, where they can choose to hail a Grab ride to the airport. The airport will be automatically listed as the destination.

The user only has to provide the pick-up point and desired time.

Moreover, GrabRewards members have the flexibility to convert their points into Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer miles.

“We have a shared commitment to innovation and delivering safe and high-quality travel experiences to passengers. At the same time, we are constantly making the Grab platform more rewarding for our customers,” Jason Thompson, head of GrabPay, said in the statement.

“By integrating Grab’s and SIA’s loyalty programs, customers can look forward to using their points when they plan for their next holiday. This partnership is a significant recognition by one of the most prestigious airlines in the world and I’m incredibly excited about what we’re going to achieve together,” he added.

Grab today is in more than 100 cities across seven countries including Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Singapore Airlines operates services to over 60 destinations in more than 30 countries on five continents worldwide.

“We are constantly seeking to enhance our SingaporeAir mobile app and KrisFlyer program to ensure that we provide more benefits to our customers,” Campbell Wilson, Singapore Airlines senior vice president for sales and marketing, said in the same statement.

Grab, a fierce rival to Uber’s ambitions in Southeast Asia, earlier announced plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion to bolster its war chest.

Grab said it was looking to tap China’s Didi Chuxing (DiDi), the world’s leading one-stop mobile transportation platform, and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. to raise up to $2 billion. It said another $500 million would be raised from other investors.

This was considered the largest single financing in the history of Southeast Asia.

In the Philippines, Grab and Uber have tangled with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board over a 2016 state-ordered moratorium on the processing of new driver applications that both companies said was an obstacle to expansion.