Tony Fernandez is a Malaysian Entrepreneur. He was born on 30th April 1964 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His father was Indian and mother was Mixed Indian (Malayali). He started his education at Alice Smith School and from 1976 to 1983 and received his education from Epsom college boarding school. He completed his graduation from London School of Economics. He joined as the Senior Financial Analyst in WarnerMusic International School. Fernandez had a dream of starting a no-frills airline. He left Warner Music International School. He purchased AirAsia on September 2001 and became its Chief Executive.
Tony met with the President Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in October 2001 and he advised Fernandez to buy an existing airline. He converted a failing government commercial airline into a highly successful budget airline. It was picked up by Fernandez when the company was heavily indebted. The debts were repaid within less than two years. He launched AirAsia on 2001 and within two years he turned it into a profitable airline. This became the largest low-cost airline in the region. He adopted a JV model to expand his business operation in the South East Asian Region. Fernandez says that his timing was correct for getting into the business. Aircraft leasing costs fell by 40%. He believed that the Malaysian travelers would accept the low price as it would save their time and budget. TheAirAsiaX launched flights in India in 2010. He has ordered 350 aircraft in total. Only 118 aircrafts have been deliveredout of these. He believes in succession planning. The company has more than 200 aircrafts and the company is expecting to carry 89 million people.
His business strategy includes correct attitude and builds human capital by hiring persons and allowing them to earn promotions. He wants to make AirAsia famous all over the world. According to him, global means competition and one should be able to handle criticism. He is one of the first CEO’s who have made AirAsia famous by marketing his airline and by selling tickets via social media. Social media has helped him in expanding the business. He became so popular in social media and got huge fan followings.
Some of his other schemes includeTune Hotels based on the no-frills concept, hosting of Apprentice Asia in 2013 etc. He received a number of titles by King of Malaysia. He has received several awards for his achievements like the International Herald Tribune Award, Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year, Excellence in Leadership, and Brand Builder of the Year.
Tony Fernandez became one of the best Malaysian Entrepreneur. He has received the Skytrax awards nine consecutive times. Women contributed a big part in the success of this company. According to him, AirAsia was the first airline to have female pilots. 10% of the workforce consists of the female pilots in AirAsia. Fernandez got married to a Chloe, a south Indian actress after dating her for two years. Previously, Fernandez got married to Deborah Lee Bergstrom. They had a daughter and a son. If anyone wants to contact or meet him, then they can book an appointment by calling at Tony Fernandez office contact number. If you are seeking any kind of help from his side, then you can request him personally by dropping an email at Tony Fernandez email id.