"So Far Away" is one of the greatest songs ever written. Funny how songs can accurately reflect your mood because this is how I feel right now about settling disputes with MAS.

We just want to fly where we want but they spend all their time trying to stop us. Kinda sad that such a great company is so focused on stopping a fellow Malaysian company from growing.

Actually I have no dispute with Malaysia we just want to fly.
Is the sky only for MAS?

Is the high street only for CIMB? No, it’s not.

Is the mobile phone service only for Celcom? No it’s not.

Saudi Arabian government has just given Malaysia 28 flights a week to Jeddah but because MAS objects to us flying there, lower income folks who could get a low fare still can't go. We will survive because we have such innovative people in the company.

But I feel for people who could go to Mecca (via Jeddah) more often with our low fares. How different it is in Indonesia, where both Gardua and low-cost carrier Lion Air fly to Jeddah.

As a Malaysian I want MAS to be the best in the class just like I want the same for CIMB, Petronas, and Celcom. And when you see SIA and Cathay and Garuda doing so well it is a shame that MAS’ only ideas are to stop AirAsia growing.

Nicol covers her bases well. You won’t recognize any signature Nicol moves because she’s a real all-rounder and that makes her tough to beat. But above all I think her biggest strength is her steely mental endurance.

When Nicol is down she does not quiver. She does not sulk or throw tantrums as many racket-sports athletes are wont to do. She is disciplined and single-minded in her goal. And that is to win. This is the hallmark of a true champion.
Another thing about Nicol is that she is that good because she competes with the best. Waters was a formidable opponent and no pushover. Even Nicol admitted that she had to “dig deep” into her reserves to beat Waters. That probably would've made her victory that much sweeter.

We can all learn from winners like Nicol. Never say die even when you’re down and when the prize doesn’t seem within reach. Like running a marathon. Often you just need to suck it in, turn the corner and you’re home free.

I see plenty of talent and potential around me but I am often disappointed by their lack of fighting spirit and self-belief. Sometimes it’s baffling. And yet, Malaysia has fighters like Nicol who compete at international tournaments – no breaks, no concessions.

If only all Malaysians companies were more like Nicol David. We would have many more world champs.

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” :)

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!

Subsidies, in my view are a form of market manipulation. You could say it is benevolent market manipulation because there is that noble aim to make life easier for those living with less. It also gives the warm cosy feeling when you know there is the state there to watch your back when the price of oil goes a little berserk.

All well and good, but subsidies are a rather crude tool for providing citizen welfare which has become a bane to economic growth and I fully support proposal to scrap them

As popular with voters as they are, a startling 70 per cent of subsidies are enjoyed by the rich who don’t actually need them. I find this unreal and frankly a little embarrassing -- it’s sort of like a young man beginning to earn his own keep and yet refusing to move out of his folks’ place.

Subsidised petrol for one has become a real menace to our economic progress. Artificially cheap petrol keeps people happy for as long as the government can afford it but it threatens to break the bank account when the price of oil catapults to insane levels as it is wont to do in recent times. And so here we are today realizing that it’s time to grow up and live in the real world where we pay real prices.

It will be inconvenient at first because of the adjustments we will have to make. But in the long term companies will be forced to innovate, improvise and think creatively to bring down costs. Surely that can’t be a bad thing.

I do hope that the savings from subsidy cuts will be spent wisely. We have invested plenty on multi-lane highways but not enough in education, universities and meaningful R&D so it makes sense to channel more money there.

My final, but no less important point on the subject is let us not just look at the obvious RM103 billion we can save by ending direct subsidies. There are the less obvious indirect subsidies that companies like Malaysia Airlines receive through state support and preferential treatment.

MAS still gets its turf well protected and of course this distorts the market prices of air tickets. When government departments book tickets with MAS, they pay full fares when they could be getting discounts if they booked through travel agents. All airlines operate from the starting point of full fares but give discounts according to the volume of ticket bookings. When government departments are forced to pay full fares each time it begins to look like a subsidy to me.

Invariably you will find that where AirAsia is not allowed to fly, consumers have to pay higher fares. Just look at what it costs to fly to Melbourne compared to Sydney. Because of restrictions, a return ticket to Sydney from Kuala Lumpur at full fares today, is over 70% higher than what it would cost to fly to Melbourne. This is really an indirect tax on consumers which we’ve long lifted from other strategic industries like telecommunications. Celcom competes and fight with the likes of Maxis and DiGi and I think Celcom CEO, Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly is doing a great job standing up against his very formidable challengers. Over time Celcom will only improve.

So I see no point if we embark on a half-hearted reform by only dealing with one dimension of market subsidies. There needs to be on the whole, a more liberal, lively and fairly regulated market place. Only then will we see a real transformation of Malaysia’s economy.

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.

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.