Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

Anita Gabriel, the Star reporter sent me this recently and just thought it would be nice to put up a new post. This interview happened a while back in 2007 with my good friend, Sir Richard Branson but the key message is here to stay today and we are realising everything in every way. Will we do a Virgin Atlantic? We're on our way.

Video links for the interview with Branson as follows:-

Check back next week as I unveil the winners for the challenge of naming the route. Being home is definitely exciting.

Last night was definitely a night to remember. AirAsia and AirAsia X's joint win as Airline of the Year at the CAPA awards marks another major milestone in our journey. After just eight years, to come out ahead of established airlines like Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific not just means so much to us but also demonstrates that Malaysian companies can compete with and triumph over so-called "heavyweights" on the global stage.

The award is recognition of the hard work, passion, creativity and innovation that our 7,000 AirAsians bring to their jobs every day. Without them, we will not be where we are as an airline, let alone be winning the highest awards granted by the industry. To them, and to the millions of guests who fly us daily, I say a very big Thank You.

Our journey began with just two planes, one destination, and 250 staff. The first year, we carried 250,000 guests. Now,our fleet consists of 85 largely brand new Airbus aircraft (A320s for AirAsia, A330s for AirAsia X). We expect to ferry 24 million guests this year (and more than 75 million in the eight years we have been in operation); and we fly to more than 60 destinations.

We are humbled by this award and here's our pledge: That this recognition will spur us to improve our services, lower our fares even more and provide our guests with the high-quality they expect from us. We are determined to continue to demonstrate that "low cost" does not equate to "low quality."

One other thing: I would like to think that AirAsia as a whole has made an impact not just in the aviation industry but in other fields as well. Our people and our positive energy what I call our "Two P's" is what has brought us to where we are today. We hope that this will rub off on Malaysians as well. As a society, we tend to be very negative and critical. Imagine how much more we can achieve as a nation if, instead of constantly complaining, we channel our talent and potential into realising our goals and making our dreams come true.

As we say in AirAsia;
Dream the impossible,
Believe the unbelievable,
And never take no for an answer.

Last night, this old man was very very happy. Thank you for sharing our joy and for supporting us.

Here's a letter which makes it all worthwhile. These were the ideals that started AirAsia and fired us with passion.

Dear Mr. Fernandes,

I would like to thank you and your airline for the wonderful service in evacuating us from Padang on Thursday October 1st, 2009. Myself and 30 others had been abandoned by Tiger Airways in an airport with toilets with no water (toilets choked and putrid), no air conditioning in the heat and humidity and the main ceiling of the airport which had collapsed.While the cowards at Tiger Airways left us behind, your airline, got us to safety, which we and our loved ones are all very thankful and happy about.What made this even more challenging, was that all ATM's, credit card facilities and money changing services were closed or not functioning.

We pooled our Rupiah to buy tickets on Air Asia, of which a couple of tourists got left behind to wait two nights at the Padang airport until Tiger airways finally returns (we hope for their sake). As i was on a business trip to Padang, I had additional rupiah to purchase two German tourists tickets on Air Asia to KL.Upon arriving in KL, we purchased Air Asia tickets with our credit cards to get back home to Singapore (the German tourist got their connecting flights in Singapore and were very relieved)I have written to the press in Australia and Singapore applauding your wonderful service, and i hope some good PR comes of this, as your Airline well deserves it.

Once again, thank you and thank you Air Asia.

We just do what we have to do to help people. We have many who constantly barrage us with attacks and put us down. But when you get a letter like this, it makes it all worth it. This operation to ferry loved ones in and those requiring help out is an ASEAN project. This is what ASEAN is all about, an airline run by ASEAN staff reaching out to an ASEAN community that is in need of help. The ideals that communities can unite beyond language and cultural differences and be globally responsible citizens are what drives ASEAN. This is evidence of how ASEAN can be so powerful in making a difference in all communities that we need to reach out to if we all work together.

Have been getting a lot of reactions on the net and by people on the street on the nation's involvement in the motorsports world of Formula One. Next week, I am looking forward to share my thoughts on why Formula One is important to Malaysia.

Well done to all my 8000 ASEAN staff. You have made an old man very proud. Keep being an All Star in your roles and in the lives of people you touch.

Just wrapping up in London and heading back to K.L. It has been a terrific two weeks, a time of celebration (AirAsia X's inaugural flight to London on March 11), a time of frenetic activity (global media interviews, negotiations with bankers, discussions on sponsorship, etc.) and also a time for reflection, with several days spent in the south of France.

Now we just need to keep the momentum going. When the whole world seems to be enveloped in doom and gloom,

We're pushing ahead with our plans for expansion, launching new routes (several from Indonesia to Singapore next week, while AirAsia X's maiden flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin, China, takes off April 2) and promoting Kuala Lumpur as the regional hub for low-cost travel.

Meantime, have been keeping track of the developments at home and thought the quote below seemed apt in the circumstances:

“There is nothing more powerful than inspirational leadership that unleashes principled behavior for a great cause. What makes a company or a government sustainable is not when it adds more coercive rules and regulations to control behaviors. It is when its employees or citizens are propelled by values and principles to do the right things, no matter how difficult the situation. Laws tell you what you can do. Values inspire in you what you should do. It’s a leader’s job to inspire in us those values.”

Will be posting my thoughts next week on Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) and KLIA-EAST; more so on how this decision and the treatment by the government on the final decision will be pivotal in dictating the future of Malaysian businesses.

Just finished an AirAsia board meeting and saw the full-page advertisement in The Star taken out by Anas Zubedy of Zubedy (M) Sdn. Bhd.

Couldn't agree more with the general message. I suspect it will resonate with most Malaysians.

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.

I recently paid a visit to the Sinar Harian, a newspaper published by Akhbar Cabaran Sdn Bhd, which is related to the Kumpulan Karangkraf & Ultimate Group of Companies, to meet Dato' Hussamuddin. This is a group that I have come to know for many years primarily due to my involvement in the music business and his many entertainment magazines.

Walking through Sinar Harian's office reminded me so much of AirAsia. Vivid red colours, energetic, can-do staff and a mind-set of always challenging the big guys. Many things brought a smile to my face but a few stood out. One was that Sinar Harian's printing presses came from the original Star printing press, which is reminiscent of us starting from somewhere with borrowed strength. And, of course, the entrepreneurial stance of the company, particularly its quickness in closing out deals.

But my most enjoyable moment was going into Dato' Hussamuddin’s office and seeing a picture of his schooldays.

Photo courtesy of Dato' Hussamuddin

It brought immense joy to me and I hope one day in the not-too-distant future we will see this kind of photo again on walls all across Malaysia . This photo was taken in Kota Baru. A multi-racial class, and muti-racial teachers. Dato' Hussamuddin mentioned to me that everyone bought the concept at that time and everyone thought of only one thing: Malaysia.

I have many, many views on education. But I'll just summarise some key points:

1) Get rid of afternoon school. How can we say in this day and age that we don't have enough schools with classrooms to accommodate pupils in morning sessions? Afternoon should be saved for games and extra curricular activities.

2) Games, sports and art and culture are crucial to all-round character building. It is on the sports field that we encounter with our first team-building and communications experiences. It’s in drama class that you get your first creative experience. We need creative people and team players if Malaysia is to prosper in this challenging era of globalization.

3) Fewer exams. Why do we need so many? Yes, we must be prudent about this as examinations are a test of accumulated knowledge and lessons picked up but we must also be wary not to get carried away by relying solely on test after test to evaluate our children.

4) Wouldn't it be great if all our kids spoke Tamil or Hindi, Mandarin, Malay and English? How strong we would be! What a work force we would present to the globalised world. This includes, of course, maintaining high standards in English, the current forerunner in communication between borders. This is so important for us to prosper as a nation and enhance a competitive work force that is taken seriously around the world.

5) In the curriculum, encouragement and fostering of creative thinking must take centre stage and not just memorising a book. Rote learning will not cut it in this new digital era. We need to create an environment where the creative juices must be allowed to flow freely and experimentation is encouraged.

6) Give schools self governance. Allow more autonomy to school boards and allow parents to be more involved. Devolve management and power. It’s exactly what I feel should also constitute business ideals.

I have much more to say. My next post will be on innovation. Also, we will be adjusting the blog so I can reply immediately to comments in the same response column. And I'm enjoying chatting with you on meebo which has been simply a fantastic addition to the blog.

I will be posting my thoughts on KLIA-East in due course. Have a great week and wishing all Chinese in Malaysia and around the globe a Very Prosperous New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai.

What can you do for your country, not what your country can do for you.

A Happy 2009 to all.

It has been a very strange 2008. For many, it has been an Annus Horriblus. Some cry at the wealth they have lost as the global financial system went into meltdown and national economies slipped into recession. Many are fearful about their own future. And most are glad to see the back of 2008.

I understand their pain. But for me, 2008 has been a truly defining year. A year that ensures that Malaysia and the world will never be the same.

In my business world, it’s been a year when AirAsia finally got almost a level playing field , a year where Tune Money realised that it’s not just about a great product, a year where Tune Hotel got off the ground (and I believe will be a global brand) and Tune Talk finally got a partner. Serving the underserved is what Tune and AirAsia are all about, as someone pointed out in his blog. It was a year I learnt that attention to detail and having proper systems is crucial.

For Malaysia, I think we learnt that democracy is here to stay, and we the people do have a say in shaping our nation’s future. In the March 2008 elections, Malaysians delivered a clear message to the powerful: We all have a view and our opinions and intelligence should be respected and taken into account. I hope we will use that power wisely in the days, months and years ahead.

For the world, it was a year that emphatically reinforced all the old axioms about the evils of greed. Foreign bankers have brought the world to its knees. Casting prudence and good sense aside, they financed a buying binge that was probably unprecedented in history. Many people took advantage. Spurred by the availability of cheap cash, they allowed greed to overwhelm their senses. One house wasn't enough, so they borrowed and borrowed. And bought two, three, sometimes four. Banks happily fed the spending beast, and all that materialism and consumerism is now coming home to roost. The house of cards toppled, and now the pain has begun – and likely to last a while.

So what are my hopes and aspirations for 2009?

1) I hope Malaysians will change forever and look at what they can do for the country, instead of relying on the nation to provide everything. We must be positive and see what we can do to make this country a better place. Sitting back and criticising and not changing will just not work anymore. And I do hope that when we speak, we present our views clearly, rationally and with sensitivity instead of doing so anonymously. So many of those who post their views on blogs, for instance, just criticise and do so anonymously. If there is something to be said, say it openly and be prepared to defend your views in open debate.

2) We as a community must demand more from our education system. If our national schools eradicate their deficiencies and all were more like Victoria Institution or St. John’s, for instance, Malaysians of all races will be lining up to send their kids to national schools. There would then be no need to waste time on pointless debates about vernacular schools and such. Get the national schools right, and we will be on our way. It’s about providing the people with palatable choices.

3) We have to improve the standard of English among our kids. If we are to be globally competitive, then you can't run away from the need for a high standard of English. That's not saying we should not also be fluent in our own mother tongues. How I wish I could speak other languages. Imagine if all our kids could fluently speak English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil or Hindi! How powerful that would be! But we must be masters at English.

4) Hopefully, banks will be responsible in providing credit to allow businesses to function effectively. The lesson from the financial crisis of 2008 is not that banks should not lend, but should do so in a prudent manner and only to businesses that are genuine rather than hand out loads of cash to every charlatan who comes knocking on their doors.

5) That 2009 will be the Year of Meritocracy. Adopting meritocracy as a policy in all sectors will help lure back smart Malaysians and not risk losing them to other countries, especially Singapore.

6) Hopefully, in 2009 our civil servants will see the value of private entrepreneurs and not regard them with undue suspicion. Yes, I’m sure they have been hassled by many Malaysians with get-rich-quick schemes, but there are just as many, if not more, genuine Malaysian businessmen out there.

7) That Malaysia takes the lead in making the Asean economic union a strong and viable reality. Imagine a market of 600 million! Our region would no longer be at the mercy of the industralised world and we would be able to shape our own future.

8) I hope Malaysians will take a grip of their own lives and design their own destiny. Don't complain, don't wait for handouts, go out there and make a difference. Don't be negative and have a real can-do mind-set.

9) And finally, on a personal note, I want to lose weight. I am already doing the obvious – watching my diet and trying to work out more often. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year, all.

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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