Tony Fernandes and other stuff
This morning on the way to school, I managed to catch a news about Tony Fernandes on TV Mobile. For people who don't know about him, he is the CEO of Air Asia, a Malaysian low cost carrier. Air Asia is going to sponsor Singapore Slingers, a local-based team playing in the Australian Basketball League.
So what about this man? He is the man who revolutionalize the airline industry in Southeast Asia. Thanks to him, Now Everyone Can Fly. (Air Asia slogan) After reading an interview with him on Today, every marketer can learn a thing or two from this guy. He insisted on wearing his Air Asia cap at every media event; his theory is that if the CEO doesn't identify himself with the company, then no one will be.
Air Asia is official budget carrier of Manchester United and some of its planes are painted with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo; it sponsored the Williams F1 team because associating itself with such a glamourous sports would improve public perception of the brand. Although Tony is a Spurs fan, business is business and sponsoring United exposes Air Asia to the world.
During the last holidays, I took 4 Air Asia flights; 2 on Thai Air Asia and 2 on Malaysian Air Asia. Why are there two Air Asias? In fact there is an Indonesian Air Asia as well. They are all affiliated with one another and have the same management model. So what's the difference between the two?
My Thai Air Asia flights were between Yangon and Bangkok on 12th December 2007 and from Bangkok to Singapore on the 16th. I flew from Senai to Kota Kinabalu on the 19th on Malaysian Air Asia and the return trip was on 23rd.
The Yangon flight was only slightly more than half-full so I got the seats to myself. The stewardess on the flight are DAMN HOT... I believe that one of them is the model in the menu. However the plane was parked far away from the terminal at Bangkok airport and we needed to sit a crowded shuttle bus to and fro the planes.
The Malaysian stewardess were sadly nowhere near their Thai colleagues. Both flights were full and the plane got quite warm. There was also an unbelievable number of flies buzzing around the passengers during the fight to KK. Really wonder about the hygiene level of the plane.
I can't complain for the amount that I paid. Air Asia's success has spawned many other low cost airlines like Jetstar, Tiger or NOK Air. Poor travelers like me are benefiting with the liberalization and the drop in fares over the Southeast Asian skies.
In fact, I'm actually applying for an internship post with NOK Air in Bangkok. If I were successful, I would be staying in Thailand for almost the entire holidays. Maybe my Thai will be not bad at the end of the internship.
Back to Tony Fernandes again. He is one of the successful Malaysian Indians around; sadly the community is marginalized. A lot has been said and written about helping the poor Malays but the Indians in Malaysia are often neglected. In this country which is polarized along racial and religious lines, Indians hardly have any say due to their relative small strength and financial power.
From what I gathered from the net, the Indian community leader from MIC seemed to be more concerned about filling their own pockets than helping follow Indians. Abdullah has detained the five lawyers who organized the rally to highlight the Indians' plight. There is a high likelihood that more Indians will support the opposition in the coming election.
Recently I made a trip to the Malaysian High Commission to collect Form K. It is a document which certifies that I have relinquished my Malaysian citizenship and while I was there, there were many people who are either collecting like me or are applying for it. In fact, I saw a sign which said that the application to renounce the Malaysian citizenship is only limited to 20 applicants per day.
Will Malaysia be successful in stopping its brain drain? I think it will make a good political science project topic.
So what about this man? He is the man who revolutionalize the airline industry in Southeast Asia. Thanks to him, Now Everyone Can Fly. (Air Asia slogan) After reading an interview with him on Today, every marketer can learn a thing or two from this guy. He insisted on wearing his Air Asia cap at every media event; his theory is that if the CEO doesn't identify himself with the company, then no one will be.
Air Asia is official budget carrier of Manchester United and some of its planes are painted with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo; it sponsored the Williams F1 team because associating itself with such a glamourous sports would improve public perception of the brand. Although Tony is a Spurs fan, business is business and sponsoring United exposes Air Asia to the world.
During the last holidays, I took 4 Air Asia flights; 2 on Thai Air Asia and 2 on Malaysian Air Asia. Why are there two Air Asias? In fact there is an Indonesian Air Asia as well. They are all affiliated with one another and have the same management model. So what's the difference between the two?
My Thai Air Asia flights were between Yangon and Bangkok on 12th December 2007 and from Bangkok to Singapore on the 16th. I flew from Senai to Kota Kinabalu on the 19th on Malaysian Air Asia and the return trip was on 23rd.
The Yangon flight was only slightly more than half-full so I got the seats to myself. The stewardess on the flight are DAMN HOT... I believe that one of them is the model in the menu. However the plane was parked far away from the terminal at Bangkok airport and we needed to sit a crowded shuttle bus to and fro the planes.
The Malaysian stewardess were sadly nowhere near their Thai colleagues. Both flights were full and the plane got quite warm. There was also an unbelievable number of flies buzzing around the passengers during the fight to KK. Really wonder about the hygiene level of the plane.
I can't complain for the amount that I paid. Air Asia's success has spawned many other low cost airlines like Jetstar, Tiger or NOK Air. Poor travelers like me are benefiting with the liberalization and the drop in fares over the Southeast Asian skies.
In fact, I'm actually applying for an internship post with NOK Air in Bangkok. If I were successful, I would be staying in Thailand for almost the entire holidays. Maybe my Thai will be not bad at the end of the internship.
Back to Tony Fernandes again. He is one of the successful Malaysian Indians around; sadly the community is marginalized. A lot has been said and written about helping the poor Malays but the Indians in Malaysia are often neglected. In this country which is polarized along racial and religious lines, Indians hardly have any say due to their relative small strength and financial power.
From what I gathered from the net, the Indian community leader from MIC seemed to be more concerned about filling their own pockets than helping follow Indians. Abdullah has detained the five lawyers who organized the rally to highlight the Indians' plight. There is a high likelihood that more Indians will support the opposition in the coming election.
Recently I made a trip to the Malaysian High Commission to collect Form K. It is a document which certifies that I have relinquished my Malaysian citizenship and while I was there, there were many people who are either collecting like me or are applying for it. In fact, I saw a sign which said that the application to renounce the Malaysian citizenship is only limited to 20 applicants per day.
Will Malaysia be successful in stopping its brain drain? I think it will make a good political science project topic.
posted by shyh jie at 11:08 PM
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