What was your biggest business challenge in 2009?
The same as many other companies: operating amidst the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The tight credit market and the uncertainty about the global economic future posed challenges rarely faced before. I’m proud to say that AirAsia not only managed to overcome these challenges but has turned in another profitable year. While other airlines were grounding aircraft, cancelling routes and retrenching staff, we expanded by launching new routes and hiring more staff. We have a stress-tested management in place, having gone through other crises such as SARS, terrorist attacks, the tsunami of 2004 and political uncertainties in some countries, and the staff rose to the challenge — again. We’re now focusing on another remaining hurdle: high airport charges and bureaucratic red tape. We’re seeking to impress on governments and regulatory authorities throughout ASEAN that lowering airport charges can boost travel and thus increase tourism revenues in their nations.
How did your brand overcome this year’s challenges?
We went on the offensive. I’ve always believed that a crisis presents an opportunity. When others are cutting back, this is the perfect time for us to project ourselves more aggressively and to come up with creative marketing campaigns. We’re now becoming known not just for our low fares, but as an airline that offers value — high quality, premium service, unmatched connectivity within ASEAN, spanking new aircraft, a fun and friendly crew, great choice of products such as food.
How has the recession changed consumers in Asia?
Consumers have become smarter. They are more discriminating in their spending. And they’re looking for value, which works to our benefit. Companies that can offer value-for-money services and goods will be sought out by consumers in these tough times. For example, multinational corporations are cutting back on their travel budgets, meaning their staff are now flying on low-fare airlines. Given our fares, our connectivity and the frequency of flights in the region, we are seeing more and more corporate passengers on board AirAsia flights. And we are confident they will stay with us even when the economy improves because we offer low fares, a great experience and ease of booking.
How has the downturn affected your approach to branding and marketing?
A recession is a good time to grow the brand. We’re projecting ourselves as more than just a low-fare airline. And we’ve actively incorporated new media into our branding and marketing activities. The AirAsia blog, AirAsia Facebook and AirAsia Twitter sites and accounts have become big hits. In fact, we recently overtook Southwest Airlines as the airline with the largest number of Facebook followers. They’ve been around forever, while we’re only eight years old. And the AirAsia website attracts around 20 million unique visitors every month, making it one of the largest travel websites in Asia.
What was Air Asia’s biggest achievement in the last 12 months?
That we turned in the performance that we did in an uncertain economic environment. And that’s all down to the staff. I’ve always maintained than when we have 7,000 brains working for us, it sure beats having to think and do everything on my own. We have a committed, hard-working and creative group of AirAsians who take every challenge in their stride.
I’m not convinced the global economy is out of the woods yet despite all the talk about “green shoots.” So, it will continue to be tough in the travel sector. But people will still need to travel, and they will reward airlines that provide them with value. So, I think AirAsia will maintain its momentum. In fact, we’ll be launching several new routes in 2010 — including adding to our existing routes to India. We are unmatched in ASEAN, we are growing in Australia, we have several destinations in China and now India beckons. That’s a market of almost 3 billion people.
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