FAILURE IS AND OPTION - Tony Fernandes

Failure is a thing that as a human don’t want to face it, because it is a block way to success. Then, many entrepreneurs don’t have patient and perseverance to try it because sometimes need many times to face the failure after that finally can lead the way to success. However, best entrepreneurs can accept the possibility of failure and proceed anyway for example like Tony Fernandes.  

Tony Fernandes was born in Kuala Lumpur on 30 April 1964, which ages is 51. His father is Dr. Stephen Edward and his mother is Ena Dorothy Fernandes, both of them are also Indian. However, his father is from Goa but mix with Portugal Melaka, then his mother is Malayali (Kerala) Indian ancestry and mixed with Portugal Asian.  Tony would follow his mother to sold Tupperware at Tupperware parties at a young age. After that, he was educated at Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur. Then Tony studied at Epsom College which is a boarding school in England starting at ages 12 from 1977 to 1983.

After he got his degree holder from London School of Economics on 1987, he works as an auditor with Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Then started from 1987 until 1989, he became financial controller for Richard Branson’s Virgin Record in London. Tony was a Warner Music (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd executive when he came back from England with ages 27. From 1992 to 2001, he was a South East Asian youngest executive in Warner Music Group. But during that time when Warner Music cooperate with American Online, Tony chose to leave the company because he wants to pursue his dream which is establish a low cost airline company. Unluckily, Malaysia Government had reject the permission to establish the company.

Tony purchased AirAsia and became chief executive in 2001. Tony could bought AirAsia because it was through Datuk Pahamin A.Rejab, the former secretary general of the Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry that Tony can meet Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the forth Prime Minister of Malaysia in October 2001. During that time, AirAsia was heavily indebted and also a subsidiary of DRB-HICOM, which is Malaysia Government conglomerate. So, Tun Dr. Mahathir advised Tony to purchased that cheaper airline company better than built a new one.

 Therefore, Tony mortgage his house and used up all his properties to buy the company with 1 Ringgit Malaysia and debts of US$11 Million which is RM40 Million and the company still comprising with 2 Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Since 11 September 2011, many airline company lay off employees include pilot, stewardess and office clerk. So Tony hire them to rebuilt his company. However, AirAsia pursue lowest price of flight so that can attract many customer during economic depression. In fact, Tony Fernandes also pursue a plan which is who first buy the ticket one month before, the price is cheaper than who buy near the date when want to depart.   So after one year, AirAsia can pay off all debts and no more deficits. Its initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed by 130 per cent in November 2004.

Tony Fernandes’s top achievements is recovery AirAsia become an international airline company. Before he involves this sector, the other regions in South East Asian which previously didn’t have open skies agreements. In mid-2003 during Tony was lobbing, Tun Dr. Mahathir brought up an idea with leaders from neighboring countries which is Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Filipina. After that, those leaders subsequently granted rights to AirAisa and other discount carriers.