Yesterday, news has circled Malaysia stating that Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has stepped down from his journey being the group CEO of AirAsia X.
Also, his being part of AirAsia has brought joy to people for his continuous hard work building the region’s first low-cost airline with Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.
Who is Tony Fernandes?
Fernandes’ full name is Anthony Francis Fernandes. He was born in Kuala Lumpur and raised in Malacca. Uniquely, his early education began at The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur. After that, he continued studying at Epsom College in England. He received his degree in accounting at the London School of Economics.
Before returning to Malaysia, he worked in Richard Branson’s Virgin Group as an accountant by training. Not to mention, upon returning to Malaysia, he had a career as a Warner Music Group’s Vice President for Southeast Asia. After that, he began his journey in the airline business.
This year, 2022, Fernandes turns 58. He married his Korean wife in 2017 after their meeting in Paris in 2015. They both are gifted with 2 children. Besides being an entrepreneur, he also writes. He published a memoir titled ‘Flying High,’ in 2017.
How did AirAsia start?
In 2001, Fernandes and his partner, Kamarudin Meranun bought a failing airline for RM1 with a debt of RM40 million. The airline consisted of two aircraft and 200 staff. After two years, the duo turned the airline into the fourth-largest airline in Asia which consists of 200 aircraft and 21,000 staff across several countries — Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and more. Up to this day, AirAsia has more than 600 million passengers who travelled to more than 160 places. Known as a low-class airline, AirAsia gives opportunity to everyone to travel with the tagline of ‘Now Everyone Can Fly.’
AirAsia’s achievement has made it to be known as Skytrax World’s Best Low-Cost Airline from 2009 to 2018. Moreover, this airline’s success has been awarded the World Travel Awards World’s Leading Low-Cost Airline for five straight years straight starting from 2013 to 2017.
Fernandes’ achievements throughout his career
Throughout his career in the airline business, Fernandes has achieved numerous awards. He received the Honour of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire granted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Besides that, the French Government awarded him the Commander of the Legion d’Honneur, Furthermore, Forbes Asia named him the Businessman Of The Year which made him the first person from Malaysia and ASEAN to get the title.
A famous magazine, TIME Magazine listed Fernandes as one of the hundred influential people in the world. Furthermore, the US-ASEAN Business Council granted him the Fourth Pillar Award for his outstanding contribution to ASEAN’s growth. He was the second recipient of the award after President Barack Obama of the USA.
Forbes also listed Fernandes as number 41 among the 50 richest Malaysian.
As a matter of fact, his journey in developing AirAsia Airlines will always be remembered and appreciated by many.
Sources: Forbes, AirAsia, Asia School Of Business