KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's AirAsia Group Bhd plans to launch an air taxi service and the country's first drone delivery service as the budget carrier seeks to diversify amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company's CEO said on Saturday.

As part of the group's diversification push, it also aims to launch a ride-hailing service next month as COVID-19 continues to hit air travel.

"The air taxi will have a pilot and four seats. At the moment, we have our team working on this upcoming service by AirAsia," Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said at the Youth Economic Forum 2021, state news agency Bernama reported on Saturday.

The service should start operating in about 18 months, Fernandes was quoted as saying.