Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

What an absolutely revving weekend it was at the AirAsia British MotoGP. Another proud moment for AirAsia to be title sponsor for another globally popular event but what really made me happy was to see Malaysian talent on the circuit.

Muhammad Zulfahmi Khairuddin, if you don’t already know him, is a rider for team AirAsia-Sepang International Circuit in the 125cc class. He pretty much came from nowhere as a wildcard draw in the Malaysian GP last year. We were so impressed that he finished among the top 20 throughout the whole 2009 season that we wanted give him the opportunity to ride permanently with a team willing to go full throttle with him. We’re happy to see it through and to watch this young Banting boy mature as a rider and as an individual. Fahmi is now based in Bologna, Italy for his physical training in between races.

He’ll have quite some way to go before he becomes world champ one day but I have a good feeling about Fahmi. He is barely 19 but the kid has got his head well screwed onto his shoulders – humble, and a little shy but willing to work hard to make his dreams real. The story of a small-town Klang boy making it good in the international arena is going to be such an inspiration to the kids at home.
It’s in a way a reflection of the AirAsia story too. We began from virtually nothing, we were given an opportunity and now we’re world’s best low cost airline. I never for once believed that Malaysia lacked talent, brains nor ingenuity, merely opportunities.

And that’s what we’re trying to do at AirAsia – give opportunities to those who deserve it. Sure sponsoring something like the MotoGP is fantastic visibility for our brand but really there is the other dimension of helping unleashed hidden Malaysian and also Asean talent. We’re doing that with our driver development programme and soon we will launch a similar one for motorbike riders.

Silverstone was Fahmi’s fifth race of the season and although he didn’t finish it the team is still pleased with his performance considering that he suffered quite a crash on Friday. We look forward to more exciting races ahead. Go Fahmi!

What a hectic two weeks, it has been. First Barcelona then Monaco which was a fantastic race with Heikki finishing as the quickest driver among the new teams; then it was a whistle stop in Tokyo to collect the Nikkei prize.

What really ended the week on a high though was AirAsia being named the Best Low Cost Airline by Skytrax for the second year running. This award means a lot to us for two reasons. First it is the second consecutive year which we’ve been given the accolade and second, the Skytrax survey is an independent worldwide passenger poll. Winning this gives us public and global recognition for the hard work we put in at AirAsia. For this I’m giving our AirAsia AllStars thumbs up for a job well done.

Operating more than 2,000 flights a day to move 24 million people over 120 routes while ensuring that we keep costs down, is truly a massive logistical feat and I am very proud that we have made it to be of world class standards.
They say that being at the top can be a curse because it leaves you nothing more to aim for. I reckon that’s only true if you don’t aim to stay there. What we would really like now is to score a hat trick and win this award again next year. Ultimately we would like to one day be voted as not only the world’s best low cost airline but the world’s best airline, period.

To get there I’m well aware of ways we can make things better. That’s why we take in and listen to all feedback and complaints from our guests, no matter how small. From queues to the in-flight experience to booking and the response from our guest support; we are working out ways to improve and serve our guests better.

I realise AirAsia is a subject that evokes strong emotions from people perhaps owing to our rather unique history, but mostly because so many of you fly with us. We will never forget that it is because of our guests that we are the success we are today. So yes, we know we’re not perfect but we’re sure as hell going to try to be.

Thank you all for your support.

Over the last seven months much has been said about me Din and Naza and our venture into Formula One.

“Why?” and “Are you afraid of failure?” were the most common questions.

I’ve never written about this. But an article in Malaysian Insider has prompted me to. There have been many jokes about Lotus which I personally find quite funny. Kenny Sia did a hilarious one on why we couldn’t win which I use in many of my presentations.

But it is his second article on Lotus that actually seriously resonated with us and vindicated our thoughts. The second one was still funny but really was quite nasty. It made me feel that the reason for going into Formula One was right. For too long we have been a nation of losers and we always whack those who try. We ridicule them instead of celebrating ambition, innovation and guts.

It has been a great few weeks for Malaysian sport; Nicol David at the KL Squash Open and Lee Chong Wei at the All England Men’s Singles – two worthy champions. And over the weekend, who would have thought that a Malaysian car could come three places from getting a point in the world championship after only two races?

And that’s why we did this.

As a nation we need to believe that we can do anything. That we can be the best. Our kids need to stop worshiping the Manchester Uniteds , Ferraris , and Steve Jobses of other lands. Stop thinking that heroes only come from abroad. We must start believing that we, Malaysians, can. That we can compete and be the best in the world.

Look at AirAsia. Everyone laughed at us. Look at us now. The world’s best low cost airline; accomplished in just eight years. Who is laughing now?

So to all the cynics give Malaysia and Malaysians a chance. Embrace the brave, the visionaries, the dreamers and the innovators. Embrace positive energy.

It’s much better than just writing negative stories. Go out and make a difference. Don’t just hammer those with a positive attitude. Change today and go out and make a difference.

Lotus returns to F1 and a rebirth at Cosworth. Just to share some videos and pics during this time off before heading to Jerez on Wednesday. An extremely proud moment for Malaysia and it's a sign of things to come.

A prosperous year ahead and it's going to be a rocking start to a great lunar year to boot. Happy Valentine's Day and signing off with love.

In New York city for the entire day. And meeting media and building the brand is part of the agenda. Have attached some of the interviews that I do abroad and it touches on many issues which includes important topics such as how do we build a worldwide brand. Recently, I had tea with The Economist and thought it might be something that you would like to see.

Here's another that I ran through with Mike Gascoyne and BBC on the Lotus F1 dream. We need to be at the forefront and be ambassadors of our brand and be passionate about our involvement. The link for BBC is as follows:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8362515.stm

The essence of brand building is that we must first embrace what the brand means and what it should symbolise to the world. Armed with that, we go out with conviction and we preach that far and wide with all the latest technology and with the most effect we can.

Hope you enjoy these videos and fully embrace the value of integrating mass media with your brand. Be passionate about your brand and be all you can be. Will check back soon from New York. Have a good day all.

It was back in September when I launched a competition on my personal Twitter and Facebook page. Simply tell me where and what route you would like AirAsia to fly to and you win free flights for a year. The response was overwhelming.

I know it’s been a long time coming and most of you are probably wondering when the winner of the competition will be announced if at all. Today, I’m going to announce a date. 8 December 2009 to be exact. On that Tuesday, I’m going to call some of my media friends to come along as I unveil the winners to the world. Have been tinkering with technology a bit lately and we’re going to try to experiment with Cover It Live at the event itself. So mark your calendars as I unveil the winners of the first competition on Facebook and Twitter to a year of free flights.

All I’m going to say is that one of the winners chose an Asian destination that we’ve been eyeing for a while now. Will see you on 8 December 2009. It’s all happening live. Let the drums roll.

Since back in 2001 when we took over the management of the airline, AirAsia has always set the bar high. "Dream the impossible, Believe the Unbelievable, Never Take No for an Answer" is that belief, our credo that inspires us and its a credo we live up to in every endeavour we are involved in.

Today we are proud of two young Malaysians who demonstrated the credo in action and in doing so, did Malaysia proud and cosigned the skeptics and naysayers to the margins.

Right here in Sepang, Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and Mohd Zulfahmi Khairuddin of the AirAsia Team Malaysia made their maiden foray into the world of the 125cc MotoGP category. They entered as wild cards, but came in 16th (Elly) and 20th (Fahmi) in a field of 32 participants. An incredible feat that showed the world and pessimistic Malaysians just what Malaysia can do when we put pour hearts and minds to it.

AirAsia is extremely proud to be associated with these young Malaysians and to have sponsored the team. And they have more than justified our faith. Malaysia has so much untapped potential that we can tap into and unleash if only we believe in ourselves. We have the talent, the technical competency and the mindset to compete, all we need is the opportunity. Just give Malaysians a chance, a real chance, and we can take on the best in the world.

In regards to sports, my business partners and I have taken up the challenge with our involvement in setting up the 1Malaysia F1 team that will be on the starting blocks of the grid next year. Today, in the MotoGP, Elly and Fahmi planted the Malaysian flag in their field despite entering as wild cards and competing against the established stars. They were in contention for much of the race and only narrowly missed out on World Championship points. The message is clear and loud; we are here and ready to compete. And it's not too far fetched for us to consider fielding a team in the MotoGP circuit next season.

I say let's start showing the world that on any given platform and on any given day, we are equal to the world's best. I confess I am an incorrigible optimist and this may seem as just typical Tony. But our boys showed today what Malaysia can do and I say it is time to rise to the challenge and stand tall.

We'll be there with team Lotus on the Grand Prix circuit next year. Hope to see you there, cheering a Malaysian team, wearing the Malaysian team colours as yet another "impossible" dream becomes a reality.

Going off to London again on Friday. Among other things, planning to do a series of media interviews to promote AirAsia X's maiden Kuala Lumpur-London flight on March 11. It's a historical occasion, the first time a low-cost carrier is linking Asia, Europe and Australia. We're very excited about it.

For all who’ve been wondering, we will also be meeting Manchester United officials again while we are in Britain next week.The media coverage on us has been fantastic this past week on Man United's invitation to AirAsia to be their main shirt sponsor. More than 70 print, broadcast and online media worldwide worldwide reported the story, with most of them even quoting directly from my blog post. Will keep you posted.

Now, on to another subject. From the time the blog was launched, there’s been lots of questions on how to be a pilot, will you take me as a pilot, etc. Everyone, it seems, wants to be a pilot with AirAsia.

Well, here's the deal. The AirAsia blog will soon launch a competition and from the entries, we'll pick 10 qualified winners and give them an opportunity to become an AirAsia pilot.

Not going to say much here but if you want a chance to fly an AirAsia Airbus, check the blog this week for details.

Dear all,

In London, about to meet Manchester United. Thank you for all your wonderful feedback and comments.

There is no doubt that this would be great for AirAsia and as many of you have said, it is worth the money. To be honest, I don’t know what the entire package would amount to, as prices would have come down. But it must be stated that all our branding commitments to have always been about the impactto our bottom line. We would not be the global brand we are today if we hadn’t invested early on.

The question is whether we need to anymore. And that’s what I’ll be examining.

I was just thrilled that we have reached a stage where Manchester United would actually
1) Think that we are a big enough brand to afford them; and
2) That they would want our brand on them

Yes Proton was on Norwich as someone pointed out, but Norwich and Man U are two completely different type of clubs on two totally different levels.

Well let’s see. Remember, we are ruled not by our hearts but by our brains. Well, once in a while our heart leads us the wrong way…hahaha.
Who knows one one day Manchester United may want to sponsor us!!!!!

I don’t think this will happen as we have achieved a lot of what we want already with our brand, but who knows?
Believe the unbelievable , dream the impossible and never take no for an answer.
Will be keeping all of you posted.

Are you ready for this?

Manchester United have just approached me on whether AirAsia would be interested in becoming their shirt sponsor. Yes, you read that right. The world's most famous football club wants to proudly wear shirts bearing the name and logo of a Malaysian-born global brand. Doing this would be a first for a Malaysian company and would truly solidify us as a global brand. This pure acknowledgement of us, AirAsia as a global brand to be reckoned with is simply a moment where you just step back and say, “Wow! We’re actually there right now!”.

From the business front, its simply astonishing as it clearly shows how we have progressed as a brand and that this little Malaysian company has gone so far in a mere 7 years to raised our brand to such high levels.

Heres the million dollar question, or rather the multi-million dollar question: Do I commit to the shirt sponsorship of Manchester United?

What do you think? So, should AirAsia do it? Have your say on my blog, and you may, just may soon be seeing this:

Make some noise in here people.