Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

The past few weeks displayed to me the power of a brand. Many have asked for tips. There are tips on each of my posts. Some subtle whilst others are direct. But this post is direct one. As a businessman or businesswoman the lesson here is not to neglect your brand and always invest in your brand.

The brand.

The value of a brand is hard to quantify and investment in a brand is always hard to justify but the last few weeks showed me how important it is and how our investment over the last 6 years has paid off handsomely.

For the past few weeks, I have attended the Forbes Global CEO Conference, JATA World Congress Tourism Congress and the World Low Cost Airlines Congress 2008 as keynote speaker. What struck me was that in 6 years from all parts of the globe AirAsia has become synonymous with low cost travel.

What does that mean? It means that when someone thinks of low cost travel in Asia they think AirAsia. When someone wants to partner with a low cost airline they think AirAsia. When we need to make new contacts, look for finances and build new relationships, it's much easier as everyone knows AirAsia. So the extra revenue, time and cost savings can all arise by promoting your brand.

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The A380 experience. I haven't flown SIA for a long time certainly not on long haul as I used to get a discount from MAS (but please note used to hahaha). I have been flying the Gulf Airlines as they are cheaper but decided to treat myself and fly on SQ A380 in their suites.

The picture tells a million words even though I'm pretty lousy photographer. But it is a wonderful sight to behold and an amazing piece of engineering.

But what amazed me before I talk about the title was how happy the SIA crew were to see me. They all said that AirAsia had made a big difference to their lives both from the fact they could fly more and the fact that our company showed that you don't need to put people in boxes. That AirAsia had allowed cabin crew to be pilots, boys who carried bags to be pilots, call center staff to be Station Managers. It was great to hear all of this. But the best part of the conversation was that we gave from our heart and that we put our employees first.

It was strange hearing it from a Singaporean staff as sometimes I even feel my own staff don't realize but it was a great feeling nevertheless. It was a wonderful feeling that a Malaysian company of only 6 years can impact an airline that has clearly been the world's best. But that's my thought for the day.

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Hi Everyone,

Firstly, thank you for giving me such a warm welcome to the world of blogging. I must say I really enjoyed reading the 150 comments and emails.

I have so much to say but I will start by trying to cover some of the comments raised by all of you.

Please call me Tony, so that's what I would like to be called. This is me, not a ghostwriter so pardon the typos and poor grammar. Just returned form London and went to watch basketball (my next project an Asean Basketball League - will tell you all about it soon) and today went to watch the Women's World Cup of Table Tennis as AirAsia was a sponsor.

Back to your comments. I will use this blog to share my experiences, give my views and share some of my inner thoughts on life and business.

I hope to meet many of you as you've requested and I'm always around the airport or planes so just come and say hi. You may also see me at a Tune Hotel. Someone asked did I play Ping Pong, yes I did. Love the game. My main sports were Rugby Cricket and Hockey. Now I play the odd game of football and Squash.

Many of you have sent suggestions on AirAsia and complaints. I've set up an email for this and it's tony@tonyfernandesblog.com.

I would like to suggest that you use this email to send your suggestions or ideas or complaints to me. Would be easier for me to reply and I will reply. You can also send to the AirAsia Blog or Guest Support at AirAsia.

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Boy I have so much to say and I have to say this is liberating. Hopefully everyone who reads this will look at it in the right spirit...positive spirit. Something all of us as Malaysians need a massive dose of.

So Happy Merdeka to everyone! 51 years is not bad. Merdeka is not something to be taken lightly. Imagine if we were still ruled by someone else. We still have a long way to go before the fruits of independence are enjoyed by all. One of the key issues we face today is to stop great talent from leaving our wonderful country. A loss of even one talented Malaysian represents a drain on our great country.

In this era of globalization, I hope that we can put our differences behind us and work as a united Malaysia to combat the many challenges thrown at us.

Let's look confidently together towards the future and strengthen our bonds as Malaysians to take our nation to greater heights. Look at AirAsia, a company that pays homage to the diversity of Malaysia and which promotes talent regardless of race, creed, gender or social status and in the process built a truly global brand in 6 years.

AirAsia is a Malaysian company which has delivered tremendous benefits to every Malaysian. Imagine if there were 51 more such companies. That would be something to REALLY look forward to.