Tony Fernandes CEO Blog

I received this letter late last week and I thought I’d share it with you. This just goes to show that we’ve come a long way since we first met because when we first met in 2007 it wasn’t in the best of terms and now just a couple of years down, here we are working together to better educate ourselves on the needs of everyone who would fly.

It is amazing and blows me away to have these disabled friends of ours, understanding where we are as a LCC and their unrelenting commitment to make the LCC work for disabled guests and everyone in general, with what we have and mind you which is with limited resources and the airport layout. That itself is humbling indeed and from the bottom of our hearts we thank you BEAT!

Barrier-free Environment and Accessible Transport (BEAT),
c/o No 4, Lorong 1A/71 J,
Jalan Carey, 46000 Petaling Jaya.

15 November 2011

AirAsia Berhad,
LCC Terminal, Jalan KLIA S3,
Southern Support, Zone KLIA,
64000 Sepang, Selangor Darul Ehsan.

Attention : Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO AirAsia Berhad,
Mr. Bo Lingam, Head of Operations and Planning, AirAsia Berhad.

Dear Tan Sri Tony and Bo,

We, at BEAT, feel very honoured to be given the opportunity to be involved and to support AirAsia in providing training for your staff. Thank you, AirAsia for giving BEAT the full trust and confidence to develop the cross disability training syllabus and modules and to conduct the training.

We are also thankful to be given the opportunity by AirAsia to introduce Disability Equality Training (“DET”) on top of the Disability Related Service Training (“DRST”). DET gives us a correct understanding of disability issues from the perspective of equality and justice. With DET, DRST will be properly understood, better appreciated and more effective.

BEAT wants to give maximum credit to Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, group CEO of AirAsia, for it was Tan Sri Tony who recognised that the training would be best conducted by and with the involvement of disabled people themselves - the end users of the service. It was Tan Sri Tony who invited BEAT to be involved in the training.

As a gesture of his commitment, Tan Sri presented BEAT the AirAsia cap he was wearing on when he met us on 20th July,2007, with his hand written wordings “To all my BEAT friends”, “You have my 100% commitment", and “Dare to dream”. These words which came directly from Tan Sri himself had given us great motivation to give all our best to support AirAsia in the effort to further improve the service to include disabled passengers. Knowingly or unknowingly, Tan Sri Tony has helped put into practice our very famous slogan “Nothing about us without us”. Thank you, again, Tan Sri !
As part of our mission is to work towards a better and accessible environment and an inclusive society including improved services, we see it as part of our responsibility to offer and share our knowledge, experience and expertise because we know best our own needs and how we want to be served. BEAT is fully committed and proud to be working in partnership with AirAsia in implementing change for better and improved service. We know that the good service will ultimately benefit us and the community at large.

May we also take this opportunity to put on record our special thanks and deepest appreciation to Mr. Bo Lingam, Head of Operations and Planning, who was entrusted by Tan Sri, to work with us for the past 3 ½ years. To mention a few, we found Bo to be friendly, easy going, trusting, understanding, accepting, accommodating, fair, reasonable, open minded, and fun to work with and to be with. In short, we have “fallen in love” with him  More importantly, Bo has been able to work with us not just as a working partner but as a friend.

Over the few years of working together, Bo has been able to better understand our struggle and appreciate us for who we are. On most occasions, Bo would make his time available even after office hours to accommodate our timing as many of us work during day time. He would let us decide on the venue of meeting most accessible to us. At times, when we had more issues to work at, the meetings would be dragged till late nights and Bo would stay put throughout every meeting session. There were also occasions when Bo sacrificed his Saturday mornings to meet us. Thank you, Bo for your full support and commitment!

Through Bo and his team, we have got many changes implemented. Among them - the terms and conditions which were discriminatory and unfair towards disabled passengers have been removed. Disabled people who travel unaccompanied are now able to travel on AirAsia. Online bookings are now made possible. Disabled passengers are no more required to sign Indemnity Forms. RM 12 is no more charged for usage of each wheelchair. Special assistance is given upon request without charge. Aisle chair made available when a disabled passenger is on board. Passenger boarding lift made available at LCCT upon request. Special Assistance Service Counter established at LCCT. Developed DET&DRST cross disability training syllabus and modules and mainstreaming them as part of the overall syllabus conducted at AirAsia Academy. Syabas, Bo and Team!

In the face of alternative training offers by local and international groups, Bo recognized the effort, commitment and past record of BEAT and stood by us. Bo maintained that BEAT would continue with the training in Malaysia and also help to extend the training to Thailand and Indonesia. Hence, Bo was in fact instrumental in realising the recently concluded DET&DRST Training of Trainers involving participants from Thailand and Indonesia. Thank you, Bo!

Now that Bo has “left us” for greater tasks else where in AirAsia, we sincerely wish him the best in all his undertakings. We assure you, Bo, that we will give our full support to Zaman and team as we continue the good work you have laid down.

To Bo, we thank you for all that you have been to us. Please do drop by and visit us as and when your time permits. We know that we are not only going to miss you but we will miss you a whole lot!

Warm regards,
Christine & Team,
B.E.A.T. Malaysia.

Recently, some good friends of mine and fans of AirAsia have alerted me on the resurfacing of the email with subject title “AirAsia Compromise on Safety and Regulations”. This email has been on circulation for sometime despite an article on our Travel 360 magazine and abundance of article in the web on 25 minutes turn-around time.
Interestingly, a representative from the Ministry of Transport (MOT) also raised a reply upon receipt of the said email of which I’m in copy. I would like to share the reply here with all of you:

“Dear Friend,

All Malaysian airlines including AirAsia are subjected to the safety regulations/standards set by the Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia. In fact these standards are higher than that set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). ICAO is made up 190 countries and we are one of them. All planes are also subjected to scheduled checks by the DCA to ascertain whether they are airworthy, if they are not, than I am afraid to say that they will not be allowed to fly.

The ICAO also does annual checks on safety standards of all the airlines of its member countries including Malaysia. Only recently, the ICAO did their safety audit on Malaysia and the results were thumbs -up.

Countries like UK and Australia will not accept Airasia if it is not up to the safety standards. UK has ban many airlines such from Indonesia and the Philippines. Australia has recently banned Tiger Airways from Singapore (imagine Singapore, the so call the safety standards bearers). Qantas, Australia has had the same safety problems as Tiger etc.

And again, comparing a LCC with a Full Service Carrier is not a fair comparison at all. And I am not sure how you come to the conclusion that Lufthansa is a reputable airline!

There are many types of air travel which we can choose, if we are not satisfied with one.

Whenever you are free, please make an appointment with me so that I could bring you to DCA and show you the safety standards of our airlines.

“Always the other side of the grass is greener”

Tks

XXXXXXXXX
Undersecretary of Aviation
Ministry of Transport, Malaysia
Tel: XXXXXX”
In addition to the above, I also wish to highlight the fact that before AirAsia is permitted to fly to or operate in a particular country; its Aviation Authority (equivalent to Department of Civil Aviation in Malaysia) would scrutinize our adherence to safety regulations and standards by benchmarking it against our Maintenance Program (which includes the 25 minutes turn-around check). Unless and until the Maintenance Program received approval, we won’t get clearance to get in to the respective countries.
Back in Malaysia, our renewal of Air Operator Certificate, which is on annual basis, would also be in jeopardy if safety standards are not met.
Final food for thought: How would AirAsia compromise on safety when it has the youngest fleet in the region and is the single biggest purchaser of Airbus A320 planes in the world?
So now you decide if this is truth or myth?

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about unions. AirAsia has 9,000 staff and no unions. Why? Because we look after our staff. You only need unions if management doesn’t take care of the staff.

AirAsia staff are paid well, they get an annual bonus and are provided with opportunities for career advancement. The company does well, and so do they.

I’m not sure what some unions do. Are unions democratic, do they represent all the staff? Some union leaders have been in office for years. Are they benefitting themselves or the staff?

Yes, worker’s rights are important but I still feel dialogue is the best way forward. We should all win together.

WOW, 3 times in a row! Thank you, thank you and thank you!

I am deeply humbled by this show of support that you, our guests, have given to us at AirAsia. Being voted World’s Best Low Cost Airline; not once or twice but thrice consecutively is just amazing. This recognition is very meaningful to all of us at AirAsia as it is an award bestowed following an independent global survey that was conducted by a respectable London-based aviation consultant - Skytrax. Over 19 million travelers worldwide took the survey and we came out top in this most prestigious and respected airline award survey, which measures airlines’ product and service standards. This goes to prove our constant effort to improve and innovate are working.

I believe by pouring your heart and soul into your dreams, you can undoubtedly achieve it and it is just a matter of time. However, to be the best and stay on as the Best takes passion and the spirit of never give up!

3 times a charm!

Whilst I am over the moon on this, I would not forget the blood, sweat and tears of everyone at AirAsia. So, I am going to attribute this award to the AirAsia Allstars who are and have been the pillar of our success all throughout. I can still recall vividly how AirAsia started with just mere 250 employees in 2001 and we have now grown with strength of over 8000 employees across the ASEAN region. Also, the long and winding road of each of the battle we fought tirelessly. What could be a better gift then this award as we celebrate our tenth year anniversary in a few months’ time. A big pat on the back of all the AirAsia Allstars who made this dream come true. You guys really and absolutely deserve this award. A big and fun celebration will ensue and after that we will work even harder to lift AirAsia to the next level and into the next decade.

Din and our girls with the award

As for you, our guest, we will strive to be more customer friendly and orientated, make available great and unbeatable products and services that span over a much bigger network of connectivity like there has never been before. We are indeed very proud and grateful to have been chosen as the People’s Champion, People’s Airline once again. I would just leave you now with a BIG thank you for the wonderful support expressed. There’s never an end to dream, as if it does life would be a shame. Therefore, the next one to realize could be elusive but not entirely impossible; Let’s see if we can get this next year - Skytrax World’s Best Airline Cabin Staff Award – AirAsia! After all, YOU should Dream the Impossible! Don’t Take No for An Answer! Believe the Unbelievable!

Good day folks, sit tight, stay tune and be surprised by us!

Blood.Sweat.Tears

Many asked me to write about this, so here goes.

I'm not really the most conventional person in conducting interviews but I have been blessed with getting good people.

What do I look for?

1) The hunger in their eyes -- the look that says they're determined to go out and prove to everyone that the world has missed them, and made a mistake doing so.

2) Looking at their present job. If they are bored, then that's what I want. Someone who's raring to go.

3) People who believe in themselves. Believe in meritocracy.

4) Team players with little politics (not always easy to find).

5) Humility. I hate people who are into how large their office is going to be, or "what car do I get?" And, of course, "what's my title?" Being humble and proving one's own ability is the key. Then everything else follows.

6) The ability to adapt to change and move from department to department (much like Holland's total football concept). And innovators: People who dare to take risks and change the norm.

7) Adding extra value to the organization. In whichever way and whichever area. Musician, artist, sportsperson, etc. I like all rounders.

8) Doers rather than talkers.

9) And last on my list: academic credentials.

That's it. Good luck for all those dreamers. Remember, always be postive. Life is much more fun that way. And live your dreams. You only live once so go out there and do whatever you want. You only have one life - make the most of it.

Once in a while some asks me: what do you consider the best thing you have accomplished in your life?

It's a question that always makes me reflect. And it happened again recently at Epsom College during a lecture.

I believe that probably the most satisfying moments for me have been the development of people. Seeing a boy who carried bags for us at AirAsia and is now a pilot, or a call centre agent who is now a head of operations gives me immense pleasure.

But in all this Lotus mess, one of the highlights of has been the development of Riad Asmat, our CEO at Team Lotus.

I met Riad when I went to meet the CEO of Proton, Syed. Riad made such an impact on me that within five minutes, I said to him: why are you wasting your time here, come work for us.

He was then special assistant to the CEO. But in my mind, I figured Riad was way smarter. No ego. No hangups. Decisive. And a young man who believed in doing real work rather than what others thought about him. Made rational decisions and had a great persona about him. Very honest and smart but terribly under utilized at Proton.

Riad was the raw diamond that I love polishing into a sparking gem.

In the last year, he has proved himself many times over. He has shown that he can go from being just a glorified secretary to sitting in the same room as the bosses of Ferrari, McClaren, Red Bull and Williams. Not just holding his own in such company, but contributing to the discussions and resolution of issues. This coming year, I expect him to really come into his own and dazzle all as he moves from Malaysia to Lotus headquarters in Norfolk, England.

It's a lesson to all: There's tremendous talent in all your organizations. Identify it. Provide the opportunities. Use it. And watch them take flight.

Riad, well done. I'm proud of you.

So much has been said about Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia idea.

It’s the right way forward – in fact, I believe it’s the only way forward for this country we all call home. He has many obstacles to overcome to make it a reality. It’s very hard but hopefully he will pace himself and get Malaysia to where he – and, I’m convinced, all patriotic Malaysians – want our nation to be.

If there is any doubt that 1Malaysia is the right way forward for all Malaysians, take a look at AirAsia. Here is a thoroughly local company that has delivered immense benefits to the nation and to all Malaysians, not just any one race – Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans, and others (never quite understood that “others”).

There are many companies in Malaysia that are either Malay-dominated, Chinese-dominated or Indian-dominated. At AirAsia, we pride ourselves on being Malaysian-dominated. And that's why AirAsia thrives. We harness the strengths and talents of Malaysia – all of Malaysia -- and have built an amazing fighting force.

When Dato Kamarudin Meranun, Dato Aziz Bakar, Dato Pahamin Ab Rajab and I first thought of setting up AirAsia, we knew we would need the most talented Malaysians to make it work. We looked beyond race when we began hiring our staff. We sought out the best people – people with passion and conviction, people determined to demonstrate that Malaysians can make it on a global stage if only given the opportunity, people excited about rising to a new challenge. And that’s exactly why we’ve grown from a small airline into a global brand that’s making Malaysia proud.

Meet our Magnificent Seven:

Kamarulzaman Ahmad (Zaman) is someone I met at lunch. A 13-year veteran of Petronas. We had a good chat, and followed by a few more weeks of discussions, he’s now working with AirAsia. And he will be a key driver of AirAsia in the next 10 years.







Azran Osman-Rani and I also got together over a lunch (yep, all these lunches are why I have that weight issue!!). He was previously with McKinsey and Bursa Malaysia and with Astro. Now his success is legendary in helping us create AirAsia X as its CEO.






Sathis Manoharen I met on a flight to Los Angeles. He was in the oil and gas industry at that time. We had a great chat and, naturally, I invited him to join AirAsia. He did, and is now our Regional Head of Cargo – a business he started from scratch and which is already showing potential of becoming a pretty good contributor to our bottom line.





Jasmine Lee is a much more recent addition to the AirAsia family, joining as our Head of Commercial just under a year ago. But she’s fitted into our AirAsia culture like how a bird takes to the skies.

Aireen Omar is a graduate from the London School of Economics and with a Masters from New York University. She worked in New York before returning to Malaysia, doing some serious corporate finance work. But she was bored as well and when invited, came on board AirAsia in an instant. She’s now Regional Head of Corporate Finance, Treasury and Investor Relations.




Lau Kin Choy and I go back nearly two decades, back to our times in the music industry. He’s now our Regional Head of Innovation, Commercial and Technology.







Senthil Danapalan was with MAS, so he was still staying within the same industry when he came to AirAsia. But he can tell you how the work environment at MAS and AirAsia is like the difference between night and day. Senthil handles routes and airport policy at AirAsia X.

Malaysians all, these young, talented, dedicated and passionate people are the future of AirAsia. They, and the others like them in the AirAsia family, are the reason why we believe the future of AirAsia is shining bright. Now it’s up to them to take AirAsia to the next level -- from a Malaysian company to an Asean corporation.

In nine years, we have taken AirAsia from two planes to 86, from 250,000 guests carried in our first year to more than 100 million guests now, and from a staff of 250 to a family numbering almost 8,000 – in the process, creating careers and providing opportunities that rarely existed previously.

We began with a dream: creating a Malaysian company where talent, passion and dedication rather than race, creed or gender are the criteria for advancement. AirAsia has clearly demonstrated that Malaysians have talent – and all they need is the opportunity.

And now we’re dreaming the impossible again: Malaysia first, now Asean. Next stop – the world!!!

I’m proud of my AllStars. They’ve shown that AirAsia is more than just a low cost airline. Together we’re just going to get better and better from here.

I am a regular Air Asia passenger with a 6 yr old son. My son is fascinated with the Air Asia fleet of aeroplanes and have a collection of model aircraft. Last Sunday, Sept 12th, we went to Pavillion Shopping Centre and saw the REDMEGASTORE booth. He was excited and wanted to get the A330-300 x-tra long model aircraft. However, to our disappointment, the lady at the counter has sold the last one to another family. The lady told us to go to LCCT to buy it as there is another booth there. So we drove all the way there from Pavillion. When we got there, the unfriendly booth lady told us she did not carry that model and offered no other assistance. My son was really upset, so we went and asked around and was referred to counter R16.

I met Mr Lloyd Ferguson there. Mr Ferguson immediately picked up the phone upon listening to my dilemma and spoke with someone trying to find ways to help me. After he hung up the phone, he called a staff Mr Prithivi Thomas to do an extra ordinary request especially for me. Mr Prithivi Thomas ran off in a jiff to find all departing aircrafts to help my son purchase his dream A330-300 x-tra long aircraft model. He was back in 15minutes with the purchase!! You cannot imagine the joy that shone in the eyes of a 6 year old boy when he was presented the aircraft model.

Through Mr Lloyd Ferguson and Mr Prithivi Thomas's efforts to do the extra ordinary, it has exceeded all customer service expectations and most importantly it has made a little boy's dreams come true that evening. Never had I imagined Air Asia would have such dedicated staff who showed so genuine customer care and would take such efforts to help out customers such as myself in such ordeals.

I hope this compliment reaches Tony Fernandez so that he will know that he has such exemplary staff such as Mr Lloyd Ferguson and Mr Prithivi Thomas who clocks in to work everyday but brings a hope, a smile and many joys to customers such as myself. Truly you have a gem in Air Asia that makes all the difference called Lloyd Ferguson and Prithivi Thomas!

In running an airline there will be high points and low points. It gets pretty low when we hit brick walls when dealing with Malaysia Airlines and Malaysia Airports. At moments like these you do wonder if you got what you bargained for. But then along comes a high moment; a smile, a cheer, a thumbs up, or a note thanking us for making someone’s life better and suddenly, your spirit is revived.

Today I experienced a high moment when I got an email from one of our employees. He joined us as a guest service agent when AirAsia first started out, later enrolling into our first cadet pilot programme. He’s chalked up enough flight hours since and will soon embark on a course to earn his fourth gold bar - to become captain.

Despite all that has been unfairly put before us we will still do our bit to change people’s lives; this note is testament to that.

Hi Boss,

I hope that this email finds you in good spirits and good health.

As I compose this email, I can’t help but smile as I reminisce about the transition from where I was to where I am now, and it would not have been possible without you.

When I first joined AirAsia as one of your pioneer customer service agents, I never ever thought I would someday fly an airplane. After a couple of months in customer service, I eventually moved to the purchasing department where I learned so much and I really enjoyed every minute of it. The opportunities for career advancement in AirAsia is beyond doubt above all expectations.

I also want you to know that things are looking up for me, and after years of flying as a co-pilot , I’ve been given the opportunity to excel further. I’m now in the midst of doing my command course, and if all works well, I’d soon be your man on the left side of the cockpit.

I hope you have a great day boss, and do keep up what you do best, which is to continue doing wonders for the company.


Warm regards,

Literally …“Keeping my head in the clouds and feet on the ground” :)

Protests and violence, shootings and deaths, the economy taking a hit, tourists cancelling trips – the events in Bangkok over the past few weeks make for distressing viewing.

But Thailand is an amazing country, and the Thai people a pragmatic lot. Now that the violence has ended, Bangkok is determined to bounce back and AirAsia is ready and willing to help.

So yesterday a team of us from Kuala Lumpur set off on flight FD 3572 for Bangkok. Sure, the flight wasn’t as full as it usually is but we had every nationality imaginable on board. It was the same great service, the same delicious food and the same AirAsia spirit of fun and laughter served up by our crew. We had some quizzes and gave out prizes. The crew were magnificent, especially senior flight attendant, Parinya and flight attendant executive, Phatsara both of whom showed tireless effort to make the journey a true AirAsia experience. That’s what earned us the ranking of “World’s best Low-Cost Airline” for the second year running in the Skytrax survey of 18 million travellers.

We went to Bangkok to demonstrate our commitment to the Land of Smiles. We are an Asean airline, and we are here to stay and help the diverse peoples of this region prosper. I believe that it is during crises that people recognize how AirAsia is different because these are the moments when our “can-do” attitude really shines through. Throughout this difficult time our Thai staff showed up for work without excuses, always smiling and above all, phenomenally professional despite the very real threat to their lives and well-being.

We view challenges as something to overcome. Not for us the woe is me, wringing of hands. That’s just not our culture. We always find a way to cope and transcend. That’s down to the creativity, hard work and dedication of our 7,500 staff. I always say that in our short eight years, we have been through every crisis and catastrophe known to mankind – disease, disaster, dissent – but we always bounce back. So will Bangkok. And we’re helping by giving out 10,000 free seats to Bangkok from anywhere on our network.

As our Thai AirAsia CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld, said yesterday: “The past is like a rear view mirror, smaller than a windshield because the future is far bigger than what’s behind us.”

I couldn’t have agreed more.