Tony Fernandes - Achievements and Awards

Achievements and Awards

Fernandes' biggest achievement has been to turn the AirAsia airline into an international carrier. Before the creation of AirAsia, countries in the region did not have open-skies agreements. In mid-2003, Fernandes' lobbying pushed Dr Mahathir to raise the idea with the leaders of neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, those nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers. Fernandes opened up the budget carrier sector in the region. Now, Southeast Asia hosts a number of low-price carriers such as:

• Malaysia's Firefly (owned by Malaysia Airlines)
• Singapore’s Tiger Airways (owned by Singapore Airlines);
• Singapore’s Scoot (owned by Singapore Airlines);
• Singapore’s Valuair and Jetstar Asia (partly owned by Qantas Airways) (both airlines merged in 2005);
• Thailand's Nok Air;
• Vietnam's Jetstar Pacific (formerly Pacific Airlines), and
• Philippines's Cebu Pacific.

In Thailand and Indonesia, AirAsia holds a minority stake in the respective local companies. Thai AirAsia, a joint venture with Shin Corporation, Thailand’s largest telecommunication conglomerate, took to the skies in Feb 2004 and has to date carried over 1 million passengers in its first year of operations. PT Awair, re-launched as a low fare airline on 8 December 2004 and subsequently renamed Indonesia AirAsia, presently serves 5 domestic destinations in Indonesia.

Fernandes has received several awards for his achievements:

• International Herald Tribune Award for the "Visionaries & Leadership Series", for his outstanding work in AirAsia;
• "Malaysian CEO of the Year 2003" in December 2003 — so far awarded to only nine other recipients in the country, by American Express and Business Times. The award was an initiative to recognize entrepreneurial and managerial expertise and performance among leaders of Malaysian corporations.
• Named the joint winner of the CEO of the Year 2003 award by American Express Corporate Services and Business Times.
• "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" in the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards" in 2003;
• Made the list of Business Week's "25 Stars of Asia" in 2005.
• Malaysian Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year 2006"

• "Excellence In Leadership - Asia Pacific Leadership Awards 2009"

• 2010 Forbes Asia businessman of the year
• 2011 No. 52, in FastCompany Top 100 Most Creative People in Business.

Fernandes has also been honoured by the King of Malaysia with the title Tan Sri, Dato' Sri and also by the government of France with the Legion d'Honneur Order. In 2011, according to a Team Lotus press release, Tony Fernandes was awarded a CBE or Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to promote commercial and educational links" between Malaysia and the UK.