By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST on Dec 2, 2014
Published in NST on Dec 2, 2014
AIRASIA Bhd is looking at various avenues to grow its business and profits.
This includes building up its base at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 and turning it into a global aviation hub.
“It will be great if Kuala Lumpur can be the Dubai of the East as it will create a lot of jobs. We are focused on this but I need airports and all my partners to play their part as well. We need to put every dollar into growing Malaysia, as opposed to fighting wasteful competition,” said AirAsia Bhd founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said.
“We plan to make it that with just one stop, you can go anywhere. Someone can fly from Trichy (India) to Perth or travel from Beijing to Bandung all within one stop, which is effectively what Emirates has done in Dubai.
“For Emirates, you can see the world from Dubai. My tagline is you can see Asia from Kuala Lumpur.
“There is no airline that can do what we can do. We have a combined network of AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia X. That alone is an amazing network in Asia.”
He also expects AirAsia to benefit from the fast-growing sporting industry.
Fernandes owns Queens Park Rangers, which was promoted back into England’s Premier League this year.
“I think there is big potential in football. Formula One was a disaster but I don’t regret it at all because life is about doing things. We learn a lot from our mistakes,” he said.
Fernandes founded Caterham F1 Formula One team, which began racing as Lotus Racing in 2010 and Team Lotus in 2011. He sold Caterham F1 to a Swiss and Middle East consortium in July this year.
Fernandes said his life is a pressure cooker now because of his love for football.
“I am always under pressure, but nothing beats football. Being in love with football is the most pressure I have ever felt. During a game, I would feel like throwing up as I would get very nervous. Saturdays used to be the best day of my life, but now it is not because of football. But it is great when you win.
“The sport has been very good for AirAsia in building the brand. It should be a business because I think we have the potential to develop a stadium in London. It is something we have been discussing with the mayor. It’s a dream.
“You know, if I were to get hit by a bus tomorrow, I would have lived a great life. There are no regrets and that is what I always tell the kids... to go out there and live your life because everyday is that last day of your life. You don’t want to have regrets. Just go out there and do what you want and experience life.
“Life is great. I am a very positive person. You must live every day as though it’s your last day.
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