Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Tony Fernandes
Tan Sri Dato' Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes (born 30 April 1964) is a Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., which took over the first Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia. Fernandes turned AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. He has since founded the Tune Group of companies. Until 2021, he was the owner of Caterham Group, the parent company of British car manufacturer Caterham Cars. Until July 2023, he was the majority shareholder of Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Fernandes was born in Kuala Lumpur on 30 April 1964 to an Indian father (originally from Goa) and a mother of mixed Indian (Malayalis) and Asian-Portuguese (Kristang) descent who had been raised in Malacca, Malaysia. At a young age, he would follow his mother who sold Tupperware at Tupperware parties.
Fernandes was educated at The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur. Starting at age 12, from 1976 to 1983, he studied at Epsom College boarding school in England. He matriculated to the London School of Economics and graduated with a degree in accounting.
Fernandes worked very briefly with Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently becoming the financial controller for Richard Branson's Virgin Communications in London from 1987 to 1989 before he joined Warner Music International London as Senior Financial Analyst.
Fernandes was admitted as an associate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 1991 and became Fellow in 1996. He is currently a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Fernandes was formerly a Warner Music executive in Malaysia, and Vice President, ASEAN at Warner Music South East Asia from December 1999 to July 2001. When Time Warner (later WarnerMedia; now Warner Bros. Discovery) announced its merger with America Online, Fernandes left the company to pursue his dream of starting a budget no-frills airline.
It was through the late Datuk Pahamin A. Rajab, the former secretary-general of the Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry that Fernandes came to meet with then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in October 2001. Instead of starting from scratch, Mahathir advised Fernandes to buy an existing airline. AirAsia, the heavily indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom, was then losing money. Fernandes mortgaged his home and used his personal savings to acquire the company, comprising two Boeing 737-300 jet aircraft and debts of US$11 million (RM40 million), for one ringgit (about 26 US cents). One year after his takeover, AirAsia had broken even and cleared all its debts. Its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent.
Fernandes attributes the success of AirAsia partly to timing. After the 11 September 2001 attacks at New York City and Washington, D.C., aircraft leasing costs fell 40%. Also, airline lay-offs meant experienced staff were readily available. He believed Malaysian travellers would embrace a cut-rate air service that would save them time and money, especially in a tight economy. Fernandes estimates about 50 per cent of the travellers on Asia's budget airlines are first-time flyers.[citation needed] Before the advent of AirAsia, he estimated that only six per cent of Malaysians had ever travelled by air.
Hub AI
Tony Fernandes AI simulator
(@Tony Fernandes_simulator)
Tony Fernandes
Tan Sri Dato' Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes (born 30 April 1964) is a Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., which took over the first Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia. Fernandes turned AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. He has since founded the Tune Group of companies. Until 2021, he was the owner of Caterham Group, the parent company of British car manufacturer Caterham Cars. Until July 2023, he was the majority shareholder of Queens Park Rangers F.C.
Fernandes was born in Kuala Lumpur on 30 April 1964 to an Indian father (originally from Goa) and a mother of mixed Indian (Malayalis) and Asian-Portuguese (Kristang) descent who had been raised in Malacca, Malaysia. At a young age, he would follow his mother who sold Tupperware at Tupperware parties.
Fernandes was educated at The Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur. Starting at age 12, from 1976 to 1983, he studied at Epsom College boarding school in England. He matriculated to the London School of Economics and graduated with a degree in accounting.
Fernandes worked very briefly with Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently becoming the financial controller for Richard Branson's Virgin Communications in London from 1987 to 1989 before he joined Warner Music International London as Senior Financial Analyst.
Fernandes was admitted as an associate member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 1991 and became Fellow in 1996. He is currently a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Fernandes was formerly a Warner Music executive in Malaysia, and Vice President, ASEAN at Warner Music South East Asia from December 1999 to July 2001. When Time Warner (later WarnerMedia; now Warner Bros. Discovery) announced its merger with America Online, Fernandes left the company to pursue his dream of starting a budget no-frills airline.
It was through the late Datuk Pahamin A. Rajab, the former secretary-general of the Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry that Fernandes came to meet with then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in October 2001. Instead of starting from scratch, Mahathir advised Fernandes to buy an existing airline. AirAsia, the heavily indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom, was then losing money. Fernandes mortgaged his home and used his personal savings to acquire the company, comprising two Boeing 737-300 jet aircraft and debts of US$11 million (RM40 million), for one ringgit (about 26 US cents). One year after his takeover, AirAsia had broken even and cleared all its debts. Its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent.
Fernandes attributes the success of AirAsia partly to timing. After the 11 September 2001 attacks at New York City and Washington, D.C., aircraft leasing costs fell 40%. Also, airline lay-offs meant experienced staff were readily available. He believed Malaysian travellers would embrace a cut-rate air service that would save them time and money, especially in a tight economy. Fernandes estimates about 50 per cent of the travellers on Asia's budget airlines are first-time flyers.[citation needed] Before the advent of AirAsia, he estimated that only six per cent of Malaysians had ever travelled by air.