PETALING JAYA : While a number of laid-off airline crew and pilots have ventured into food businesses to sustain themselves through tough times, Manjinderpal Singh Gill has ventured into the p-hailing business.
Not wanting to waste what he learned as a pilot, the former AirAsia first officer pondered with several friends, also laid-off air crew, before deciding to go into parcel-delivery services.
Together with former AirAsia pilot Kamaljit Singh, Emirates airline cabin crew Roushandeep Singh and three other friends, they formed Delivery Singh.
The company kicked off operations last week and business has been encouraging, said Manjinderpal.
He said besides motorcycles, the company also does deliveries by cars and four-wheel drive vehicles.
“We wanted a catchy name that all Malaysians can relate to. We have between 50 and 60 riders of all races, and we hope to hire more, especially those who have lost their jobs. Among our riders are a pilot and a dentist. Our prices are competitive and our target is to be among the top three p-hailing service providers within a year.
“We are an all-Malaysian company that hopes to earn the support of fellow Malaysians,” he told theSun yesterday.
Manjinderpal said the company is in the midst of creating a mobile phone application to enable clients to have easy usage of its services.
Five years after he achieved his childhood dream of flying planes for an airline, it all came to a halt last October when he was among those retrenched by low-cost carrier AirAsia.
The inevitable downsizing of staff due to the Covid-19 pandemic left the 27-year-old pilot feeling dejected.
Having flown the Airbus 320 and Airbus 330 to places such as Australia, India and Saudi Arabia, Manjinderpal said he hopes to take to the skies again someday while keeping his p-hailing business going.
“Working for AirAsia was a wonderful journey and I love the company. I gave my full commitment to the airline and was heartbroken when I lost my job, but I understand AirAsia could not avoid it due to the current situation.
“I hope to return to flying again. It is my dream to fly a Boeing 747. This was the aircraft that spurred me to become a pilot,” he said.
