Flying High, My Story

by Tony Fernandes

  My new outlook is due in large part to a new partner in my life, Chloe, who I’ve been with for two years. She brings stability and she’s made me reassess my life and reinvest in it.

  Stephen Shrimpton, my old boss at Warner, said to me once: ‘You’re a typhoon, Tony. Slow down. You don’t have to run at 100 mph; things will come to you.’

  I feel like things have come to me so far. Looking ahead, transforming AirAsia to become so much more than an airline is central to my plans, as is the big push to create a genuinely South East Asian airline. I’ve always believed there should be an EU-style trading bloc in Asia – called ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations). It comes from my belief in free markets: trade barriers are wrong.

  It’s ironic that I’m pushing for this in Asia, just as the EU is starting to fragment. Breaking up Europe is an error – it’s incredibly dumb. I can see why the tensions built up: from the ruins of the Second World War, and an anxiety to stop a phenomenon like the Nazis happening again, they created a European Parliament, single currency and a vast bureaucracy that eventually strangled itself. Instead, there has to be a middle way – you can’t standardize everything and there’s no harm in some nationalism. The Irish will tease the English who will tease the French and so on. The single European currency was the right step from a business point of view: it’s easier to trade and there’s less risk. Yet it was poorly implemented – countries should have had to earn the right to be a part of it. If trade flow and GNPs (Gross National Products) are imbalanced it causes a problem, with too many different types of economies, so I would have tiered it. If you transferred that model to the ASEAN situation, you’d have Laos and Singapore sharing a currency, which is not going to work; but one currency for Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia could ultimately make sense.

  In the early days in the music business I pushed South East Asia as a market: ‘If I can sell my music to 600 million people, why not?’ With AirAsia I said: ‘Right, no one’s looking at us yet. I’ll create an ASEAN airline.’ That’s why we’re so big, bigger than any airline in China apart from the state-owned airlines; we’re number four in Asia because of our reach. I could never have created an airline with 200 planes in Malaysia alone.

  South East Asia is still far from where Europe is, but we’ve created an ASEAN brand – perhaps the only globally recognized one – which I’m going to build on with ‘One AirAsia’.

  Tune is another line on my list which I need to focus on. I haven’t been able to give it the energy it needs. We’re trying to clean it up by putting all the related companies (Protect, Tune Talk and BigPay) into AirAsia so that the corporate governance is transparent. After we’ve joined everything up I’m excited about addressing Tune Hotels because the concept is so strong; meanwhile Tune Protect can become the next big digital insurance company. Each of these companies can reach their full potential once they are linked in this way.

  Within AirAsia we have created something that I am proud of and hope to spend more time on: the AirAsia Foundation. I set it up with a former AirAsia colleague, Mun Ching, in 2012.

  I first met Mun Ching in 2003 when she was an online news reporter for MalaysiaKini. She came to see me because of my fight with the Singapore government about our route. I had got angry and the idea that the owner of a small airline would dare to take on the Singapore government intrigued her. I persuaded her to come to work for me and she led our route-planning department for four years (she’d had no experience but I could see something in her). She left to continue her studies; when she returned to Malaysia a few years later she came to see me to tell me she was setting up a social enterprise.

  I was immediately on board – social enterprise has always appealed to me but I hadn’t seen the right opening. It struck me that it could be part of AirAsia. We’d just been through the horror of the tsunami and the typhoon in the Philippines. Initially, Mun Ching was going to help set up a structure for an AirAsia Foundation and then launch her own social enterprise (with some funds from me). As I thought about it more, my ambitions grew. I wanted to do it properly – the tragedies that had hit the region demanded it. So we settled on a foundation that Mun Ching still runs five years later.

  AirAsia provides money for grants which the Foundation gives out. I also contribute any speaking fees I get to the Foundation. And recently the commercial department at AirAsia was offered a retail space in the Klia Z terminal building which they passed on to the Foundation. The shop stocks goods from the social enterprises and any money it makes goes back into the Foundation.

  The original idea was that instead of just paying out charitable givings, you take the money and try to help sustainable social enterprises. So we started giving grants and it seemed to work. A lot of the smaller social enterprises get money to start with but they don’t get any help in the middle stage, so they die off after two years. Many people who support social enterprise still demand a 4 per cent or 6 per cent return on their investment. We’re not about that. What we try to do is to help them grow not only by providing cash but also by helping with marketing and branding (often their plan is just to post something on Facebook, but that’s not enough).

  The kinds of enterprises we’re helping tend to be local small-scale artisans so their exposure to modern selling techniques on social media is small. Mun Ching and her team can go in and make a real difference to a community by helping these artisans sell their products more effectively. I’m always happy to step in when I can. So when I was approached to do The Apprentice Asia, we organized a charity event for the Foundation which showcased some of the causes we were investing in.

  The range of enterprises we invest in is expanding all the time. To date we’ve helped twenty, ranging from renewable energy projects to coffee collectives and tourism enterprises. Always the idea is to make an effective difference to these initiatives above and beyond a cash injection.

  For example, a group of engineers who lost their jobs in the recession in Malaysia back in the nineties returned to Borneo and started working on micro-hydro turbine projects for remote villages. These places would probably never get connected to the national grid.

  The engineers started innovating and installing turbines in the villages. The design process was quite basic – back-of-the-envelope sketches – so some of our AirAsia engineers went in and showed them more sophisticated engineering techniques involving AutoCAD. We have branded this the Allstars Do Good programme and encouraged our staff to take on volunteering within the Foundation – and they do a lot in their free time. AirAsia pays for their flight on a Saturday, they go out to the engineering centre and do the training.

  By passing on skills and training people to provide their services using our own expertise, we can make a real difference. I love this kind of approach because it is self-sustaining – the people who learn from our engineers can pass on their new knowledge to the next group and so on.

  For enterprises which make artisanal products, we look to see if we have any sales channels that might be beneficial. My dream is to create an on-board shop that sells local produce and local products; it would be incredible if we could create a sales environment where the money from sales on the plane was going back into the region rather than to huge multinationals.

  The Foundation also looks after the humanitarian aid side of things. Over the years we have delivered tons of aid, transported aid workers and brought out thousands of survivors from devastated areas. As I’ve described earlier, we responded quickly to the tsunami crisis in Aceh and that was just the start. We were there when Nepal experienced its worst earthquake for eighty years in 2015; and we put on a huge fund-raising drive to help rebuild areas of the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan and managed to raise over $2 million, ship in 400 tons of cargo, rebuild 532 homes and help 133 shop start-ups. It was an amazing effort. The Foundation is one social enterprise I’d certainly like to spend more time with.

  When I was five, my uncle said to me that he thought one day I’d make a
great politician. The comment has always stuck with me.

  There’s a lot still to do, though, and I want to focus more on a few projects in the next phase of my life. For example, my mind has recently been turning to two big problems. One has been prompted by my own health and the other by my experience of helping to set up Epsom College in Kuala Lumpur – the first branch of the college overseas.

  If you look at airlines, they have first class, business, premium economy and economy. AirAsia only deals with economy. We leave the rest to the others. When I look at the state healthcare system, I realize they can never look after everybody satisfactorily; yet private health is beyond the means of most people, so we’ve got to find something in between. The way I see it is that hospitals try to do everything themselves, but 80 per cent of people probably have about 20 per cent of diseases; dealing with the 20 per cent of people who have more complicated diseases is the work of specialists, but treating them in hospitals introduces inefficiency. We should set up hospitals (Tune Hospitals perhaps) that help deal with the 80 per cent of people. If we did that, then we could be much more efficient than the state system that has to deal with all 100 per cent of illnesses, and in turn we could help relieve some of the pressures on the state.

  Within hospitals themselves there are inefficiencies that technology can iron out and we can be more flexible in the roles people perform. The health system has evolved in reaction to events from the inside. But, just as we did with the airline business, if we can come into it from the outside, we can creatively disrupt the whole network by showing a new approach and helping everyone involved, from patients through to doctors and surgeons.

  Education is similar. Private education is way too expensive for most households but the state system has to be all things to all people and as a result it can’t perform to the maximum for anyone. Again, if you look at the 80/20 rule, a new way would focus on getting 80 per cent of the curriculum absolutely right but provide it as an affordable private education model. I want to explore different models and try to open private education up, because in the long run it will reduce the burden on the state system.

  My eye has been roving over lots of different projects and ideas recently. The focus on data, on ASEAN and the push for ‘One AirAsia’ are challenges that are more than enough to keep me occupied. But I am also taking a slightly longer view of things. I met up with the Formula One legend Nico Rosberg recently and we had a long conversation.

  Apart from being an incredible driver and an honest, straightforward guy, there’s another reason he’s such an inspiration to me: he quit at the top. His view was that he’d had a dream and he’d achieved it. He could have continued to go for more goals within the sport but he decided he wanted to try other things. When he told me he was retiring from Formula One, I was really surprised because most drivers’ competitive instincts force them to keep taking on new challenges. But Nico, having made it to the highest level of his sport, decided that was enough. He’d achieved what he wanted and would bow out at the top. The temptation to carry on for ‘just one more year’ is a self-defeating spiral.

  It made me realize that great leaders know when to quit. It’s an essential part of being a leader that you leave at a point when you know the company, the team or the service will improve after you’re gone. I’m not suggesting that’s on my horizon yet but it did make me think carefully about the future of AirAsia whenever Din and I decide the time is right.

  When people recognize me in a restaurant or a club, they’re shocked that I’m a humble guy: I’m not surrounded by bodyguards or weighed down by bling; in fact, I was once accused of dressing like a hobo. I don’t feel the need to look smart because I think there’s too much focus on appearance. Beauty comes from inside.

  Having no barriers means that I will stop and chat to people – unless they just want to abuse me. I’ve never seen the point of retreating behind a wall because part of the reason I have been successful is that I’ve gone out of my way to meet and talk to people regardless of who they are. Life is much richer if you do that.

  So I take the train to work in Malaysia. I get away with it a lot of the time but if one person says, ‘Are you Tony Fernandes?’ there’s pandemonium; the whole train wants a selfie. I do that happily because it’s good for me and it sets a good example to my kids.

  People who don’t know me and only see that I’m aggressive in the press because I fight my corner will think I’m arrogant, but I’m the same guy I was who went to Epsom College forty years ago. I’m passionate about the things that matter to me and I’ll never apologize for that.

  Many CEOs and successful people believe their own press and surround themselves with sycophants who won’t remind them of their roots. Again, I’ve never seen the point in that and I haven’t let the fame and the money change me. I think it’s my character, not a conscious decision, and I live by the idea that you’re only as good as tomorrow. That means you can’t rely on reputation or past successes to take you forward, you have continually to be better, learn from mistakes and strive to attain your dreams. Underpinning that is the belief that you should never forget where you’ve come from – that is a great reminder of your progress, not what people say about you or what you read in the newspapers.

  If someone had told me when I was twelve that I was going to own an airline, a Formula One team and an English football club, I’d have said, ‘What drugs are you taking?! Please give me some of them.’ I’ve achieved the dreams I stuck to the tuck box, but there are still so many challenging things to do. I may succeed or I may fail. If I fail, I’ll keep going until I succeed because I never give up.

  That’s why I’m flying high.

  Illustrations

  With my adoring mum in Kuala Lumpur, 1965, when I was about one.

  Even as a toddler I liked to party.

  My dad and I in London in 1976 when I was twelve. We were on our way to visit Epsom College for the first time.

  June 1993. A very proud dad to newborn Stephanie.

  (1980: Rugby Junior Colts, Epsom College.) Football was always my game but I eventually grew to love rugby. I was fast and played on the wing.

  (Epsom College Archive)

  (1981: First XI hockey, Epsom College.) I loved hockey and was the youngest pupil to play for the First XI. My ‘Vampire’ stick was a treasured memento, autographed by the Indian World Cup team.

  (Epsom College Archive)

  (1983: Holman House, Epsom College.) Proudly sitting as House Captain. Holman were seen as mavericks by the rest of the school. And their colour was red.

  (Epsom College Archive)

  One of AirAsia’s very first flights. I look like I don’t quite believe I own the airline!

  (AirAsia)

  As CEO of an airline, I make sure I do all the jobs my staff do on a regular rotation – including loading suitcases on to the plane. I learn so much about what’s really going on because of this.

  (AirAsia)

  This ad ran in the AirAsia Annual Report 2012–16. Long-term, trusting partnerships are vital in business. AirAsia and Credit Suisse have been working together profitably from our very earliest days.

  (AirAsia)

  Enjoying Richard Branson serving me dinner en route from Perth to Kuala Lumpur after I had won a Formula One bet against him. To his eternal credit, Richard really got into the spirit of it. 13 May 2013 was a great day.

  (AirAsia)

  Proud co-owners watching our team. Din and I are more like brothers than business partners.

  (Javier Garcia/Back Page Images)

  24 May 2014. One of the greatest moments of my life. Celebrating with QPR fans after winning promotion against Derby at Wembley.

  (Javier Garcia/Back Page Images)

  9 July 2012. Ji-sung Park was a legend in Asia so signing him to play at QPR was a massive moment for me.

  (Javier Garcia/Back Page Images)

  Hugging our goalkeeper Robert Green after the amazing play-off final against Derby, 24 M
ay 2014.

  (Javier Garcia/Back Page Images)

  Celebrating promotion on the Wembley pitch, 24 May 2014. Joey Barton didn’t quite realize what he was taking on when he put me on his shoulders. Fair play though – he didn’t drop me.

  (Javier Garcia/Back Page Images)

  A sign on the sixth floor of RedQ, AirAsia’s headquarters. It reminds us every day to remember our roots. This is a favourite sign of Din’s.

  (AirAsia)

  (RedQ, Kuala Lumpur International Airport.) There are no offices and all the meeting rooms have glass walls. We are an open organization.

  (AirAsia)

  Acknowledgements

  Writing this book has allowed me to look back and reminisce about the people who have helped shape my journey.

  First of all, I am grateful to have been blessed with loving and inspiring parents who taught me compassion and instilled in me a zest for life. To my late dad, Stephen, thank you for introducing me to jazz greats, showing me the potential of supporting the underdog, and, through your dedication to public health for the public good, planting in me the desire to envision a world where equality is possible. I know we have a long way to go, but I’d like to think that whatever small steps I take to empower communities around the world are steps in the right direction.

  To my late mum Ena, I owe my courage and entrepreneurial spirit. My mum’s Tupperware parties were legendary, as were her skills as a hostess. She was my greatest cheerleader, always encouraging me, and she brought light and life to any room she walked into. The day she passed away was one of the darkest in my life and, till today, I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that I was not able to be with her before she passed or even fly home for her funeral, due to the exorbitant price of air travel at the time. Mum, I vowed back then that one day I would make flying affordable, and I hope that I have made you proud. Thank you for always believing in me.