One of the first things Tony Fernandes wants to do after the company is back in business is to rehire every staff he had to let go during the Covid-19 crisis, even as he remains confident the airline is set to come out much stronger.
The AirAsia Group’s CEO said having survived the last 15 months without raising capital unlike many foreign airlines was a testament to the company’s strength, and said the injection of about RM2.5 billion from various sources is imminent.
“We made Malaysia globally recognized, we have changed travel after what I came up with within the shower, ‘Now everyone can fly’, has become a reality. So we got to win and make sure we don’t fail. Nothing is cast in stone but we are looking good,” he told BFM in an interview in its Breakfast Grille segment yesterday.
In this context, he said, his No. 1 priority is to rehire everyone that the company has had to let go.
“They did nothing wrong. They are great people and we are an amazing company because of our people.
“I have a responsibility to regrow, rehire and reskill. We are doing all those things right now. The fact that we are still alive after 15 months is a testament that we have very good staff at AirAsia.”
He was responding to a question from his host who asked if with 90% of its 200 planes grounded and with a cash balance of about RM500 million, how long the airline could survive.
Fernandes said with vaccination being rolled out rapidly in many parts of the world and flying beginning to return to normal slowly especially in the US, he expects things to pick up soon, adding that Airbus is manufacturing more aircraft with its orders increasing.
“And now we have new capital coming in. We got some good investors and we will be announcing them soon. I have been very consistent in saying that we will be raising about RM2.5 billion.
“Our Thai counterparts have already raised (additional capital), while we are in the process of doing it in the Philippines and Indonesia,” he said, adding that the papers have been submitted to the regulators and announcements are expected to be made next month.
Fernandes said some airlines had gone to raise capital at the beginning of the pandemic and had spent it all, and were forced to raise capital again.
“We have been very frugal on how we have managed our funds. We have been spending all this time restructuring our balance sheets with our creditors. Most important thing is our creditors have been massive supporters of our business.”
He said AirAsia will survive as there is an end in sight with the company talking to officials throughout Asean, adding that the opening of Phuket for tourists next month and the massive vaccination were signs of better times.
He said AirAsia Group is no more just an airline with 17 digital ventures that had been set up recently.
“We are now a holding company for digital and aviation assets. You will see the clarity of what we built very soon. We are going to be profitable here in 12 to 24 months.
“Are we going to be the biggest in revenue? No. I am not here to lose money, but I am here to make a margin. We will grow consistently and profitability, we will be the most profitable digital company in Southeast Asia,” he said.