On a mission to enable self-empowerment in the region, on July 1st, 2020, our team introduced Airlift Express — a 30-minute delivery service for all household essentials. To deliver on a promise of 30-minute delivery, Airlift introduced the dark store model in Lahore and Karachi.

Prior to launching Airlift Express, our team pioneered the world’s first decentralized mass transit system, one that was run by local transporters for local populations. Amidst Covid-19, putting the health and safety of our customers first, our team halted operations on transit to prevent the spread, and instead diversified into delivery. In the sixth month of launching operations, Airlift Express has exceeded our peak revenue on Airlift Transit. 

At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, our colleagues at Sequoia Capital published a brief note — below is some text from the note that continues to drive our strategy:

“Having weathered every business downturn for nearly fifty years, we’ve learned an important lesson — nobody ever regrets making fast and decisive adjustments to changing circumstances. In downturns, revenue and cash levels always fall faster than expenses. In some ways, business mirrors biology. As Darwin surmised, those who survive “are not the strongest or the most intelligent, but the most adaptable to change.”

Airlift’s response and adaptation to Covid-19 has been a demonstration of agility, nimbleness and adaptability by our team, which continues to rank as our number one competitive advantage. The past year has reinforced our view that people and culture will make the biggest difference — everything else is a byproduct that follows.

While Express and Transit are two different product lines, both are in service of our broader mission of enabling self-empowerment — our vision is to build toward a world of self-empowerment, a world in which our customers no longer have to depend on others for their daily needs.

Airlift is, and will always be, an enterprise that is born in Pakistan, that stays true to local roots and talent. Our product, technology and team is based in Pakistan, committed to a mission of enabling change and bringing self-empowerment to cities like Lahore and Karachi. On this mission, we are actively seeking out exceptional teammates — feel free to reach out to us via https://www.airlifttech.com/career.

At the onset of 2021, as we continue to advance our mission of building self-empowerment, we want to thank our customers, brand ambassadors, investors and other stakeholders that continue to believe in our mission.