Work together to achieve greatness - Tony Fernandes

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is no stranger to the spotlight, with his off-the-cuff remarks that are truly etched with hidden underlying meanings.

It was only recently that the Air Asia Group CEO tweeted an intriguing tweet comparing Air Asia to the state of Sabah, Malaysia, inspiring many discussions about the subject amongst twitteristas alike.

airasia is a amazing example of all Malaysians working in harmony. Meritocracy and excel in bringing out the best in all. We are like sabah
— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) August 7, 2014

In an exclusive interview with Astro AWANI, the low-cost carrier tycoon revealed what he really meant about his ambiguous tweet.

“We live in a globalised world which is competitive.

“If all Malaysians work together, we will be very powerful- we have Malay, Chinese, Indians etc. and Air Asia is a shining example of Malaysians working together and creating an Asian and global brand,” he explained.

“I think people are looking at a pie and saying this is my slice, this is my slice, this is my slice.

“My view is let's make this pie bigger so everyone has a bigger slice and we can all work together,” he added inspiringly.

When asked to comment on the recent restructuring of the national carrier Malaysian Airlines (MAS) by Khazanah National Bhd, this was what he said:

“I have strong views, I think there has been so much noise when a MAS restructuring comes, and that no one has done it properly.

“It is not difficult to fix, allow whoever in charge to fix it without the noise,” he said extending Air Asia’s assistance if MAS would like any assistance and wishes the national carrier all the best.

Fernandes also spoke of AirAsia's plan of introducing wifi on-board its aircrafts, which will be made available to its customers hopefully by next month.

“Wifi is expensive," he lamented, explaining that he recently used wifi on a flight to London which costed him more than his flight ticket.

“We have been working for the past four years to provide low cost wifi, which may cost RM5 depending on your use, up to RM9.

“We are the pioneer for low cost wifi and making it accessible to everyone,” he exclaimed proudly.

Air Asia has now added another new business under its belt with the launch of Redbox on Thursday, its first foray into the courier business tapping into its vast route network and flight frequencies.

The company also launched its Premium Flex service on Monday, which gives the users flexibility of changing their travel time and date up to two times without any additional charges, free 20kg for checked-in baggage, Xpress Boarding and Xpress Baggage, among a many other benefits.