Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

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.

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.

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.

Read more »

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.