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.

Am reflecting on Merdeka day. It has been a busy few weeks with Krispy Kremes introduction on our planes and announcements on Abu Dhabi and Chengdu. We are gearing up to pave the way ahead for AirAsia as a whole. Was just reading the comments on the post for the women pilots of AirAsia and it it dawned on me that not enough has been said about the other women of AirAsia. Just had to take time to say a few words on how we are dispelling the myth that in Asia, only males can dominate the business world and profession of importance and AirAsia is going to be that catalyst of paradigm shifts.

At AirAsia, this does not only mean women in our flight operations have a window to excel but it also extends to our women engineers as well. We have wonderful women engineers who also stand tall among their male counterparts and challenge the notion that certain jobs are stereotyped to certain genders alone. The women engineers do not take any shortcuts nor given any slack when compared to the men and they have performed admirably. Where required, they have been out in the field, grunting their way to excellence in a normally dominant male field and they have shone as well. This is proves that women too can achieve success regardless the playing field as long as they have been given the opportunity. They are living testament that defies the myth that only men can succeed in any career regardless of the physical demands or perceptions of the public in general.

These women who have chosen to be engineers but more importantly to defy what constitutes what a female can do are great examples of stories worth telling.

Engineering Apprentice, Izyan Syazwani Mahfuz.

We call her Syaz. And at just 21, she's setting a prime example in aircraft engineering. She left Petronas to dabble in aircraft engineering based purely on her love for aviation and in her own words, "Most importantly I want to enjoy every work I do, learn sincerely, and fulfill my dream ie to follow my father's footstep and become an engineer." This Ampang lass finds the most challenging aspect of her job is in working with guys under the hot sun and for crazy hours. And in this insane smile she actually told me, "But having fantastic and helpful colleagues, they don't really matter anymore.". Izyan is really into live performances and scuba diving and has shared her dreams with us for three years already.

Izyan lasted just one year doing her foundation with Universiti Teknologi Petronas before finding her calling and her way into AirAsia. She has proven to be simply a fantastic new recruit and for her to brave a lucrative alternative with another corporate giant and work on equal terms with men, Syaz is blazing her own engineering trail.

Engineer, Noorasykin Abd Aziz

Fourth among eight siblings, Noorasykin graduated from electronic engineering and just looking at her soar to her current heights is simply awesome. She's a volleyball enthusiast and definitely another great women engineering braving the demanding hours and physical exertions while all at the same time contending with men. And she has simply given us no excuse to doubt women being as capable or even more capable in a male dominated field. The reason she took up the offer? It was simply challenging.

The women of our senior management also stand out with our head of commercial, Kathleen Tan who is simply a woman general personified. Heading our commercial team, she has continued to play a prominent role in carrying the AirAsia flag high and continues to chart our commercial growth to stand among the world's best. Another woman who is a force to be reckoned with in our ranks is Aireen Omar who has been simply sensational in heading our corporate finance and garnering international awards in Islamic financing. Rafizah who's recently joined our ranks to head our ancillary income is also an excellent addition to the AirAsia family and a woman giant in her own right. These woman embody who and what AirAsia stands for which is a champion of equal rights and a platform of woman power and equality at it's best.

Why are we what we are? One of the reasons is that we practice meritocracy at every level where sometimes many Malaysian companies ignore what woman can contribute to the growth and sustainability of a company. We recognise this and were the first to allow the women of our cabin crew to retire at the same age as men. MAS, SIA and other legacy carriers do not share the same vision as us. We have been the first to have women pilots and we are going to chart new regions based on this belief. Not only that women power should prevail, but simply, that we are going places because we believe in making a difference with the best in any given field. Signing off by saying that women power absolutely rocks.

Merdeka is a great day for all of us and our nation. We are a proud 52 years old and I hope that Merdeka will also mean Merdeka to women, and to private businesses who compete with government linked multinationals (GLCs). It is my hope that Merdeka is to all irrespective of race, creed, colour, age or sex. In essence, more independence to all. Happy Merdeka!

On a flight back from London recently, I popped into the flight deck to say hello to the pilots. To my pleasant surprise I saw one of our up-and-coming female first officers, Shara sitting behind the controls. It's moments like these when I can't help but feel a bit like a sentimental fool. Shara is the first woman in Asean to fly the A340 and I'm really proud of her. Her achievement is a sign of our success at creating an environment of equal opportunity for women at AirAsia.

Hiring without prejudice against race and sex is in AirAsia's DNA. And I'm not just paying lip service to that ideal. Take a look at our top managers. Our Head of Commercial, General Counsel, Head of Corporate Finance, Head of Ancillary income and Head of Food&Beverage are all women.

Our gender neutral policy extends to roles out in the field too. Not many people realise that we were the first airline to extend the retirement age of female cabin crew to be on par with their male colleagues. I haven't seen other airlines in Southeast Asia changing their retirement policies. We may be sexy but we're definitely not sexist.

We were the first in Malaysia and I believe, Asia to recruit female pilots. To a lot of people this was quite radical. it is actually pretty darn cool too, if I do say so myself. It was great publicity for us and it boosted staff morale to know that they were working for a progressive company. But I assure you it was no publicity stunt. None of our girls would have earned their wings had they not passed the rigorous selection process. Safety knows no double standards.

We think it simply makes sense to practice meritocracy at all levels and I think it's short-sighted of Malaysian companies to not give more consideration to the very capable female work force.

Take flying an aircraft for example. I wonder why won't more airlines cast their hiring net wide to include women. I suspect this is just tradition that nobody feels compelled to challenge. In a way that line has been good for AirAsia as it means more in the talent pool for us to mine. When the industry was suffering from a pilot shortage we filled positions quicker by considering female applicants. You'd be surprised by the number of girls who dream of flying planes.

Piloting has absolutely nothing to do with physical strength, the only obvious advantage men have over women. Technical proficiency and aviation skills can be trained in anyone with the aptitude and this isn't gender defined. In fact, the bravado and machismo often associated with men is exactly the kind of trait that acts against being a good pilot. The qualities desired in a pilot are being able stay calm under pressure, being able to multi-task, confidence, capable of making solid decisions and trusting one's instincts.

Not quite the qualities found in a woman you think? Let me tell you about two women that will quell that belief.

First Officer, Ilyana Nazli Shah

Ilyana was convinced she would become a pilot after an invitation to sit in the cockpit during a flight to Langkawi for a family retreat. She was 16 when she took that AirAsia flight.

She enrolled in and qualified for the AirAsia Cadet Programme immediately after her SPM. A self- professed adrenaline junkie, Ilyana is one of our bright young sparks. At 23, she's been flying with us for almost four years, logged 2800 jet hours and become our first female pilot to fly the A330.

Being a pilot has instilled in her a sense of confidence, self-belief and responsibility. I feel very proud that AirAsia has given talented and determined young women like her such opportunities. Ilyana hopes that she and her female colleagues will eventually rise to management level and find a career as instructors in the academy. At AirAsia that wouldn't be impossible.

Senior First Officer, Shara Azlln Jalil

Remember that big question you're always asked as a kid? What do you want to be when you grow up? Shara's answer was a little unexpected of a girl. She wanted to be a pilot. Believing that was pretty much impossible in Malaysia at the time teachers and classmates would just smile politely each time she talked about her lofty dream.

For a while they were right. But that was before there was AirAsia.
After sitting for the SPM Shara set her sights on Japan to learn Japanese in the hope of studying aeronautical engineering. Her aviation dreams at least weren't over.
By the third month of her course her dad had told her of an airline willing to recruit female aviators.

Japan had to be for another day.

She immediately enrolled in the MFA and joined AirAsia after her private training.
"I chose AirAsia because it is a company that doesn't discriminate against gender and accepts that men and women are equally capable," she says.

Well said and how true.

Shara's now logged 2700 flying hours and earned the rank of Senior First Officer. But she still gets the sense from some men that she isn't as good as her male colleagues and it's a shame that even her instructor continues to be sceptical of female pilots. Of course she is no less qualified than the boys. Unfortunately, stereotypes persist. She reckons some men feel threatened by smart women and she's probably right. But I'm confident she'll make the rank of captain soon and you can bet I'll be the first male to salute her.

I spent the past week in France. Went to see Airbus and then took a few days off cruising on a boat with my dear friend Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of the Easy Group. It was great fun.

Few know how we got acquainted. I had been working in Warner Music for 15 years. First as Warner Communication then Time Warner. In between, we merged with CNN and finally became AOL Time Warner. That was one merger too many for me and I was against it so in 2000, I stood in the Warner office in Rockfeller Center, New York and I quit. It was impulsive but then I knew that I didn't believe in their vision and I was having problems with my boss anyway so it was time to go. I had no idea what I was going to do but I just felt that the time had come for me to go. I guess I was always aware when my sell by date was.

So I walked. I think my boss was really happy I did. I flew from New York back to London which, in many ways was my home as I had spent such a long time there.

I was watching the telly in a pub and I saw Stelios on air talking about Easyjet and running down the national carrier, British Airways (Sound familiar? Hahaha). I was intrigued as I didn't know what a low cost carrier was but I always wanted to start an airline that flew long haul with low fares.

So I went to Luton and spent a whole day there. I was amazed how people were flying to Barcelona and Paris for less than 10 pounds. Everything was organised and everyone had a positive attitude. It was then at that point in Luton airport that I decided to start a low cost airline. in January 2001, armed with one million I went about building AirAsia. The rest is now history.

So I owe a lot to Stelios. I emailed him a few times. He always replied but was not keen on investing. We became good friends after we met at the World Economic Forum.
Since then we have seen each other quite a few times. The great thing about Stelios is his humility and that's very endearing. He has moved on from Easyjet to Easyhotel, Easycruise, Easycinema, Easybus and even Easypizza.

I watched the Monte Carlo Grand Prix from his apartment. He is right above the start line as you can see from the pictures.

Stelios is like Richard who was also there. These are serial entreprenuers. They like to start a business and then move onto another one. I love his energy, his drive, his desire to have fun but above all, his humility.

A lot has been said about 1Malaysia. My views on that are very clear. I hope one day there will be 1Asean.

So I won't dwell on it. What I would like to focus on are the reforms implemented in the commercial sector by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's administration.

The removal of NEP requirements for 27 service sub-sectors represents a great start. I hope the rest of it will also wound down in time. But I hope more importantly, that the entire domestic economy is reformed.

My wish is that Datuk Seri Najib does a Margaret Thatcher. At present, there is too much vested interest, conflict and red tape that kill creativity, discourage innovation and provide little incentive for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses. Before all of you jump on me and point to AirAsia's success, yes, we have survived and thrived, but AirAsia could be so, so much bigger and successful if we didn't have to deal with all these issues.

What are they?

1) Government-owned firms should be divested by the state. The government should facilitate the operations of businesses, not run them. I'm not saying GLC's should be sold to individuals like in the past but the public should own them. So instead of Khazanah owning 70 percent of several supposedly private entities, let the public own them. These companies should be put in charge and empowered, not led by civil servants. No matter how highly qualified, civil servants tend to have a singular mind-set which is that of regulators. When they are in charge of GLC's, they are likely to be conflicted in dealings with private firms such as AirAsia. Can Khazanah be really objective on issues regarding AirAsia when it owns MAS and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad?

2) If GLC's are 70 percent owned by the public and overseen by professional boards of directors, it is much more likely that the senior management, including the CEO will consist of qualified and experienced professionals --- people seasoned in the private sector and who will come into the job knowing that they can't rely on government intervention and protectionism. This can only help nurture the building of stronger and better brands.

3) Monopolies stifle and strangle innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. They should be broken up. Look at our airports, almost all under the control of MAB. We have 40-odd airports. Have they been effectively developed? Are they contributing as much to the national and local economies as they should? AirAsia has been stubborn and fought all this every inch of the way, but it has taken a toll on us as well. As for the country, how many good businesses have we lost? How many great entrepreneurs have just given up, tied up in knots by the tangles of red tape and the regulator-mentality of GLC's determined to protect their own turf rather than consider the broader national interest?

4) Private industries coupled with efficient marketing-driven GLC's will get us out of this rut. And then we can have firms that can go out there and be the best in Asean and then in Asia.

Good luck to our new prime minister. He has started off well but as the Beatles once said, it's a "long and winding road." He is right to focus on the economy. Attracting foreign investment is great but he would do equally well, if not better, to remove the shackles that prevent local talent from soaring. It is a Malaysian (note Malaysian) who will grow and drive this country. There is so much talent among our people. Liberate it.

I have received many letters both negative and positive in my years at AirAsia but this letter really moved me. It just goes to show how AirAsia has changed lives and how our dream of uniting ASEAN is fast becoming a reality. This wonderful appreciative man does not look at us as a Malaysian airline but instead as an ASEAN product that has made his dreams come true.

I just wish we can do even more for guests like him. Look at his wish list for us! But how do we set about fulfilling these expectations when we can't even seem to be able to get the details sorted out on our new home, the purpose-built Low-Cost Carrier Terminal at KLIA?

Four months have passed and we still have not heard from the Malaysian Airports Holding Berhad. I am despondent because if we had been allowed to go ahead with Labu, we would have done so much already. The country should not slow down private businesses, especially now in these testing economic times. We need low costs --- and we would welcome more efficiency and passion from MAHB so that we can make more dreams like those of the author of this letter come true.

In times when many focus on the negative, it is so wonderful to get this letter. Thank you Muliadi. You have made an old man very very happy.

Letter from guest

Dear Tony Fernandez,

We send our regards by Attaching my photos with my 4 children in royal palace bangkok. But your system can not allow it.

1. It is a great pleasure to have your letter. You are a legend. The world will remember you for the next 100 years. I will keep your letter to my grand-grand sons. Dou you have pen or anything else with your signature that you can send me so i can keep it too? I do not mind if you like to send me your first airplane. That must be very precious now and next 100 years.

2. How can AirAsia the World’s best low cost airlines because of us? If :
- you do not operate airasia and put the promotions everywhere, how can we fly to other country with cheapest price?
- If Tony Fernandez does not stay in the airport to meet the customers, to know what customers need, and have a passion to serve people, knowing people difficulties, how can I bring my wife, 4children, my mother in law, my father and my mother fly to other country?
- God created the world, to make people realize there is God. and we must see it. To praise and worship Him. He use Tony Fernandez to help us fly. By giving you the vision to see the imposible.
- You create the problems, and we love it.

3. By what you have done, indonesia, malaysia, singapore, thailand, laos , kamboja, myanmar, london, australia, india, received more tourists than before. Hotels, restaurant, shops, everything getting more profit. All the people where there is airasia, they love it. We are live! They are happy. Goverments in those country should give you rewards. But they do not do it nor say it. They just clap their hand. Because there is a song said”if you’re happy and you know it... clap your hands!” My mother 65 years, my father 70 years old, my mother in law 74 years, my children, my nephews, my sister in law, they are so happy these days because they know they will go to Kuala Lumpur on July 10, by airasia. Even it is still 3 months from now. For us$ 45/person return ticket. Low cost create happiness. When will you make promotion from Bali to London for Rp. 0,- cost? I do not mind order it 4 months before.

4. If i may suggests:
- Make agreement to airplanes factory, Buy more airplanes. Make it 7500planes in next 5 years. Open the route all over the world. Let People pay for that 7500planes and then fly them. Promote it:”WE buy the planes, you paid for it! Order now, fly next year”. I believe it will help airlines factories, countries in this global crisis.
- We need cheap rooms to stay during transit in Kuala Lumpur. Before we go to other destination. Nevermind if 1 small room have 6 beds. Like in the prison. Special for airasia passangers. As long as it cheaps, we are happy. In that hotel, we need 7 eleven. That’s it. Will you make that happen? Start from KL airport? Let people pay for that. ”WE built the cheap rooms for you, you paid for it! Order now, stay next year”.
Tony, i like you. You are special. I deeply thanks to you.

Best regards,
Muliadi Sumardi

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.

On my way to France to meet Airbus. Flying EasyJet, the airline that first caught my attention to low cost travel. I owe a lot to Stelios the owner who motivated me to do this eight years ago.

It's been six days since D72006 touched down on the tarmac of Stansted Airport but I am still brimming with euphoria. It's difficult to relay how I felt when I watched Azran and Kamarudin disembark from the aircraft with Asean Secretary-General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan that afternoon. I guess it was a mixture of relief - anything could have happened during the 12-hour transit - and giddy exuberance.

Still, today I can relax a little and reflect on March 11.

This has been my childhood dream since the day my mom packed me off to Epsom College for boarding school. I still have vivid memories of that day in Subang airport. I was a wide-eyed and eager 12-year old. Dressed in my dorky bell bottoms, my voice had hardly cracked and Elton John was telling Kiki Dee not to go breakin' his heart.

When I arrived in London, the weather exceeded my expectations in being grey and dreary. To a kid away from home for the first time, the English looked strangely pale. Public school felt like prison and I was dying to escape home ASAP. I remember asking mom if I could go back to Malaysia during term break but her reply was an emphatic "no" for it was simply too expensive. Thus, I was resigned to ingesting mushy peas and soggy fish pies all summer while the idea of cheap flights home germinated in my head.

I like to think that Malaysians, studying or working in the UK shouldn't ever have to feel the distance between themselves and their families. There's email, Skype and now, really cheap air fares to Kuala Lumpur with AirAsia X. I am just so proud that we have made this a reality.

And to think that just eight years ago my friend Conor McCarthy tore up my proposal for a low-fare long-haul airline when we first met. We kept to the short-haul formula which we've executed beautifully in Asia but I knew I would revisit this project somehow as I had, like my friend and partner, Richard Branson, already been inspired by the story of Sir Freddie Laker and SkyTrain.

Sir Freddie pioneered low-cost, no-frills travel in 1977 and really shook up the market for Transatlantic flights. Until SkyTrain's ridiculously cheap fares (less than £50!!), flights between London and New York were dominated by a comfortable cartel of state-supported airlines.

I see AirAsia X as carrying the torch for Sir Freddie and I wish he had been alive today to witness our first flight to London. What may have interest him was that only half of the passengers on that March 11 voyage were Malaysians. A significant number were customers travelling en-route from the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth. In its day, SkyTrain had actually applied for rights to fly between London and Australia. Predictably, Sir Freddie's vision for cheap "Kangaroo flights" was killed prematurely to preserve the interests of a legacy carrier. This is why we chose to name our first A330 "Semangat Sir Freddie" as a tribute to him.

A host of reasons have been given for SkyTrain's spectacular demise, but I do believe it was more a result of big bully carriers conspiring to put it out of business. Sir Freddie did, after the collapse of SkyTrain, sue for antitrust which was eventually settled out of court and I think that says a lot.

Certainly, there were other factors working against Sir Freddie too but airline economics have evolved since the late 70s. We still face the same risks of economic downturns, and high fuel costs but I think we are better equipped to mitigate these risks. Aircraft technology has improved tremendously, lowering the unit cost of carrying a passenger and this is not static. Above all, the world's middle class is growing in numbers resulting in rising demand for air travel. Air transport is becoming more of a commodity and I think it's a pity that many governments are still distorting markets by holding back the open skies effort as much as possible.

Even so, I'm pretty sure that we will see big changes in my lifetime. Sir Freddie and SkyTrain's failure was not at all in vain.

Believe the unbelievable
Dream the impossible
Never take no for an answer

We made it happen. Thanks to all of you for making an old boy's dream come true. Thank you for all your encouragement and support. It means a lot to me.

Don't stop dreaming
Love, bisous from sunny France.

I applaud Datuk Nazir Razak and this resonates with a call – let's have more brave leaders. No more hiding behind the government, monopolies and protectionism.

Shortly after I posted my views on innovation I was thrilled to read CIMB Group CEO, Datuk Nazir Razak's bold comments on how the government should show economic leadership in these trying times. Among his suggestions that really stuck with me were the review of the New Economic Policy (NEP), how the government should venture out to acquire companies and brand names abroad and how Malaysia can attract the best talent.

When I think about it, I see Nazir's comments reflect the ideals and philosophy behind Singapore's Temasek Holdings. Although government-owned, they do mean business when it comes to the way they operate. The sort of returns on investment they generate each year bear testament to that (yes, yes, I am aware of the big hit they’ve taken in the current downturn but you know what I mean). But it was the recent decision to appoint Chip Goodyear, an American and former BHP Billiton boss, as the new CEO that demonstrates how serious they are about running Temasek like a real business.

Like all Fortune 500 companies, Temasek casts its net wide and makes sure it lures the best and the brightest. I take my AirAsia cap off to the Singaporeans for this. They may have a reputation for being ultra-straight-laced and total conformists but this is one radical trail-blazing move for all Sovereign Wealth Funds and State-backed companies everywhere to try and emulate.

Now wouldn't it be great if our GLCs took the same tack when hiring for the top posts? We needn't even have to look beyond our borders: Malaysia has a large and deep enough talent pool to supply a multitude of leadership candidates who can help our GLC’s compete on the world stage. I really cannot agree more with Nazir's call for the review and restructuring of the NEP. It is probably the single most important factor that is preventing Malaysia moving from good to great. I realize the important role it has played in narrowing the economic divide between races. But there is empirical evidence to show that there has been little incremental benefit over the past two decades. It's a 39-year-old machine that is broken, running on empty and which desperately needs to be fixed.

And here’s no better time to do it than now. The global economic turmoil presents a golden opportunity to embrace change (apologies to Obama). Think of it this way: The economic pie is already shrinking at home and if we don't fix our fundamental problems of improving our education system, nurturing talent, and rewarding the best minds the pie will shrink even more. We must have the courage to seize this opportunity to truly reform.

These are all the values that we aim to promote in AirAsia. We try our best to make our staff aware that opportunities are always there for them to switch careers or take on more responsibility or become leaders, as long as they have the desire and the passion to work towards their goals. Some of our cabin crew have moved into the marketing divisions and some who've had enough of pencil-pushing in accounts have taken up the challenge to fulfill their life-long dream to be a pilot!

Someday when I am too old and have to step down from my position as CEO, we will have to hunt for a new chief for AirAsia too. If the new boss was Malaysian, that would be a bonus but regardless of his or her race, class, religion or nationality, I have no doubt that we'll be cherry-picking only from amongst best.

The answer is meritocracy. That's what Datuk Nazir is talking about, and what Temasek is practicing when it chose Chip Goodyear. It’s what globally-minded private corporations practice as well in hiring their most senior managers (think Sony, Pepsi, Toyota, Coca-Cola, and Nissan). It’s what the World Bank did when it appointed Justin Yifu Lin from China as its chief economist – one of the most influential positions in the global economic hierarchy.

Let’s make a start down this road in Malaysia. We don’t even need to go outside our borders. We have so many talented and creative Malaysians right here at home. Let’s use them all. We must ensure that these talent remain here and is not lost to those poaching the best. This is a call for Malaysian companies to be more efficient or risk losing out in the bigger picture. This also must be said, that I feel that the government should not hold back free enterprises just to protect the interests of government linked companies (GLCs). The spirit of privitisation in industries and embrace of innovation should be embraced and not frowned upon. This is an age that calls and demands brave leadership or we will find ourselves deteriorating into an economy lagging behind in ASEAN.

When I write about my Labu journey, you will see how this post is so relevant to what we are all facing in Malaysia. When young innovative bright companies are held back back by slow moving inefficient monopolies, what happens is we simply lose great ideas and talent to our competitors the world. Are we content to only play second fiddle and fall behind all the time?

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.