Serial entrepreneur, Founder & Owner of AirAsia.com, Owner of Lotus F1 team, 2009 Airline CEO of the Year

 “The award recognises Fernandes’ vision and AirAsia’s success in the toughest airline market in decades,”

Fernandez attributed his achievement to his workforce of 6,500 and the airline’s culture of innovation.

“We have grown AirAsia together, with everybody pitching in with ideas, actively finding new ways to increase efficiency, improving service by effectively combining technology and personal touch while aggressively and smartly marketing our brand,”

Profile

Dato' Anthony Francis Fernandes ( also known as Tony Fernandes) is a Malaysian entrepreneur and the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly".

He rose to prominence by turning AirAsia, a fledging government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful public-listed company. Fernandes was also instrumental in lobbying the then-Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad in mid-2003, to propose the idea of open skies agreements with neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, these nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers.

Educated at Epsom College 1977-83 and then graduating from the London School of Economics in 1987, he started his career at Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently becoming the financial controller for Richard Branson's Virgin Records in London from 1987 to 1989.  Upon his return to Malaysia, he became the youngest-ever managing director of Warner Music where he was responsible for revolutionising ethnic music.  However, when Time Warner Inc announced its merger with America Online Inc., Fernandes left to pursue his dream of starting a budget no-frills airline.

He had to get the ok from then PM Mahathir and he insisted that Fernandes buy an existing airline instead. AirAsia, the heavily-indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom, was losing money big-time. Fernandes mortgaged his home and sank his savings to acquire the company, comprising two ageing Boeing 737-300 jets (9M-AAA and 9M-AAB) and USD$11 million (RM40 million) worth of debts, for 26 US cents (one ringgit), and transformed it into an industry player.

Coming just after the September 11, 2001, undoubtedly the worst day in the history of commercial aviation when nobody wanted to fly, everyone thought that Fernandes had gone "crazy", predicting that the company would fail miserably. Yet, just one year after his takeover, AirAsia had broken even and cleared all its debts. Its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent.

Fernandes says his timing was in fact perfect: Since September 11, 2001, aircraft leasing costs were down 40%. Also, airline lay-offs mean experienced staff were readily available. He believed Malaysian travellers would embrace a cut-rate air service that will save them time and money, especially in a tight economy. That was why he copied one of the world's most successful no-frills carriers, Ryanair out of Ireland (which in turn is modelled after Southwest Airlines in the United States). Fernandes reckons that about 50 per cent of the travellers on Asia’s budget airlines are first-time flyers. Before AirAsia, he estimates that only six per cent of Malaysians had ever travelled in a plane.

In 2007, Tony Fernandes has again created a "first" in Asia by starting a hotel chain, Tune Hotels which is based on the no-frills concept. The first Tune Hotel was opened at the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Expansions are in the works as more hotels will be opened up throughout Malaysia.

Fernandes' biggest achievement has been to turn AirAsia into an international carrier. Before the creation of AirAsia, countries in the region did not have open-skies agreements. In mid-2003, Fernandes' lobbying pushed Dr Mahathir to raise the idea with the leaders of neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, those nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers. Fernandes has indeed set in motion the advent of budget carriers in the region.

In March 2009 he launched the first ever long-haul Low cost airline (with Sir Richard Branson) flying from London to Kuala Lumpur.

Fernandes has received several awards for his outstanding achievements such as:

• International Herald Tribune Award for the "Visionaries & Leadership Series", for his outstanding work in AirAsia;
• "Malaysian CEO of the Year 2003" in December 2003 — a highly acclaimed recognition, so far awarded to only nine other recipients in the country, by American Express and Business Times.
• "Malaysian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006"
• 2009 Airline CEO of the Year by Janes Transport Finance Magazine.
• the Malaysian government honoured him with title Dato (same as ‘Sir’).

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