Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

In the history of my working life, innovation has been the one priority foremost in my mind to ensure that we are always competitive. I was thrilled when Fast Company voted AirAsia as one of the top 50 innovative companies in the world. It was a thrill to be in the same ranks as Apple, Google, Nike and BMW.

Fostering a culture of innovation within the organisation is a challenge and over the next few years, I will be seeking to study even more deeply the factors inherent in how one creates an environment that can foster innovation. Some of it is cultural; some of it is due to the environment we live in. In Asia, society is still largely hierarchical and conformist. Yes, it is changing thanks to the digital era but we are not there yet where people speak up freely and boldly without on a regular basis.

So, at AirAsia, we’ve sought to level the playing field. We are a company based on meritocracy.

We value creativity and seek it from whatever the source. To encourage free-flowing exchanges of ideas, we did away with titles on our business cards, we dress down, our offices are open-plan based for effective communication, and we have a powerful Intranet which allows for forums and discussion.

We constantly challenge ourselves to find better ways of running not just our businesses, but also our own lives and helping society. I want to build a room dedicated to innovation, a room where the sparks set off by the creative tension of the debates and discussions will light up our entire company and become a catalyst for change.

We have implemented many innovative actions over the last seven years since taking over AirAsia, but we cannot lay claim to inventing the low-cost model for airlines. That accolade belongs to Southwest. But what we did invent was AirAsia X, the world's first truly long-haul low cost airline.

I was thrilled to invite Richard, whom I worked with to join me in this quest to go where no man had gone before; to link communities and cultures and make the world an even smaller place at a very affordable price. AirAsia X is basically AirAsia on steroids.

We have more seats per square inch in the aircraft, but it's still comfortable. We execute fast turnarounds (yes, it does make a difference), we have high utilisation and we will go to secondary airports such as Gold Coast (Coolangatta) in Australia. In just one year, we have had three Airbus A330-300 planes delivered to us and will potentially have eight aircraft by the end of the year, consisting of six A330s and two A340s.

It's a one-class flight, though you can pay a slightly higher fare for premium XL seats. We charge for food. We have a fantastic in-flight entertainment system and, of course, we linked AirAsia X with the very powerful and extensive network of AirAsia.

On the 11th of March, when AirAsia X will have the first London- to- Kuala Lumpur flight, it will be a proud day for me as it will be recorded in history as the longest low-cost flight. And I do believe that this flight will change aviation forever.

Outside of aviation, we have come up with Tune Hotel which is a five- star limited service hotel.

Check it out at www.tunehotels.com, with rooms starting from USD 2 a night and averaging around USD 10 a night.

In summary, innovation opens pathways that appear closed. Innovation provides opportunities to live your values, even as it improves a company’s bottom line. Only innovation -- be it in our business, our lives, our societies, our nations – can ensure that we overcome the personal, national and global challenges that we face daily.