Tony Fernandes

Tony Fernandes

Anthony Francis Fernandes (dilahirkan: 1964; nama pendeknya: Tony Fernandes) ialah
pengasas "Tune Air Sdn Bhd", dan usahawan yang memperkenalkan penerbangan tambang
murah kepada penduduk Malaysia dengan slogannya, "Semua mampu naik kapalterbang".
Fernandes mencapai kemasyhuran sewaktu dia memulihkan AirAsia daripada sebuah syarikat
penerbangan yang sakit kepada sebuah syarikat awam yang cemerlang. Fernandes juga
dikenali untuk peranannya dalam pencapaian Persetujuan-persetujuan Langit Terbuka dengan
negara Thailand, Indonesia dan Singapura, apabila dia meminta bekas Perdana Menteri
Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad berbuat demikian pada pertengahan tahun 2003. Atas
permintaan tersebut, negara-negara tersebut telah bersetuju memberi hak pendaratan kepada
AirAsia dan syarikat-syarikat penerbangan tambang rendah yang lain.

Pra-masa pengusahaan
Fernandez ialah seorang bangsa Goa bercampuran Portugis Melaka yang dilahirkan di Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. Ibubapanya ialah Dr. Stephen Edward Fernandes (meninggal), dan Ena
Dorothy Fernandes. Pada masa muda lagi, dia sentiasa mengikut ibunya, seorang peniaga, ke
himpunan penebar dan konvensi Tupperware. Selepas mendapat ijazah universiti daripada
London School of Economics pada tahun 1987, dia bekerja sebentar dengan Virgin Airlines
sebagai juruaudit, dan seterusnya dari tahun 1987 sehingga tahun 1989, dia menjadi pengawal
kewangan kepada Virgin Records, sebuah syarikat Richard Branson di London.

Sewaktu kembali ke Malaysia pada umur 27, dia menjadi pengarah urusan yang termuda di
Warner Music (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. Selanjutnya dari tahun 1992 sehingga 2001, dia menjadi
naib presiden Wilayah Asia Tenggara Selatan bagi Kumpulan Warner Music. Pada masa
Time Warner Inc. bergabung dengan America Online, Fernandes meninggalkan syarikatnya
bagi mengejarkan impiannya untuk menubuhkan sebuah syarikat penerbangan tambang
rendah. Malangnya, permohonan lesennya ditolak oleh kerajaan Malaysia.

Pelancaran AirAsia
Adalah melalui Datuk Pahamin A. Rajah, bekas setiausaha agung Kementerian Perdagangan
Dalam Negeri Dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna, Fernandes mendapat peluang bertemu dengan Dr.
Mahathir pada Oktober, 2001. Semasa itu, AirAsia, sebuah anak syarikat yang ditubuhkan
oleh DRB-Hicom, sebuah konglemerat kerajaan Malaysia, telah mengalami kesulitan
disebabkan tanggungan hutang yang terlalu tinggi. Kerajaan telah mencuba menjualnya
kepada pelabur-pelabur tanpa apa-apa kejayaan. Oleh sebab itu, Dr. Mahathir telah
menasihati Fernandes supaya membeli syarikat penerbangannya yang sedia ada, baik
daripada menubuhkannya sendiri. Seterusnya, Fernandes memajak rumah dan menggunakan
keseluruhan wang simpanannya untuk membeli syarikat tersebut dengan harga seringgit.
Syarikat AirAsia pada masa itu mempunyai dua buah kapal terbang Boeing yang berumur,
dan hutang sebanyak RM40 juta.

Peristiwa pembelian itu pada masa selepas 11hb September, 2001, suatu tempoh masa yang
paling teruk dalam sejarah perindustrian penerbangan perdagangan, menyebabkan orang
ramai berpendapat bahawa Fernandes telah menjadi "gila" kerana tiada ramai orang pada
masa itu yang berani lagi menaiki kapal terbang. Mereka juga meramalkan bahawa syarikat
AirAsia akan menjadi muflis. Walaubagaimanapun, selepas setahun, AirAsia mampu
menjelaskan keseluruhan hutangnya, dan tidak lagi mengalami kerugian. Penyusunan semula
organisasi AirAsia dengan imej dan konsep yang baru membawa perubahan yang besar dan
memperoleh keuntungan dalam tempoh masa yang pendek. Tawaran sahamnya (IPO) pada
November 2004 menerima kelebihan permintaan sebanyak 130 peratus.

Fernandes berasa bahawa masa yang dipilihnya untuk membeli syarikat AirAsia adalah tepat.
Semenjak 11hb September, 2001, sewa kapal terbang telah menurun 40 peratus. Tambahan
lagi, ramai pekerja yang berpengalaman boleh didapati pada masa itu, disebabkan
pemberhentian pekerja di perindustrian penerbangan. Fernandes juga percaya bahawa
penumpang Malaysia akan menyambut tambang penerbangan rendah supaya mengurangkan
masa dan kos, terutamanya, dalam keadaan ekonomi yang ketat. Oleh sebab itu, dia meniru
sistem Ryanair (Ryanair yang juga meniru sistemnya itu daripada Southwest Airlines di
Amerika Syarikat), sebuah syarikat penerbangan Ireland yang paling berjaya di dunia.
Ferdandes membilang bahawa 50 peratus daripada pelanggan kapal terbang tambang rendah
adalah penumpang kapal terbang kali pertama. Sebelum AirAsia bermula tambang
penerbangan rendah, Ferdandes mengira bahawa cuma 6 peratus daripada penduduk
Malaysia yang pernah menaikki kapal terbang.

Pencapaian dan anugerah

Pencapaian Fernandes yang terbesar ialah pemulihan syarikat AirAsia sebagai sebuah
syarikat penerbangan antarabangsa. Sebelum dia memasuki perindustrian ini, negara-negara
di Wilayah Asia Tenggara Selatan tidak mempunyai sebarang persetujuan Langit Terbuka.
Pada pertengahan tahun 2003, Fernandes telah meminta Dr Mahathir untuk mengemukakan
cadangan persetujuan itu kepada negara Thailand, Indonesia dan Singapura. Atas
permintaanya, dia mencapai kejayaaan dalam mendapat hak pendaratan, bukan sahaja untuk
AirAsia, tetapi juga untuk syarikat-syarikat penerbangan tambang rendah yang lain.

Ferdandes juga berjaya merevolusikan perindustrian penerbangan serantau melalui

penerbangan tambang rendah. Sekarang, terdapat beberapa syarikat penerbangan tambang
rendah di wilayah ini, iaitu:
  Tiger Airways, sebuah syarikat Singapura yang dimiliki oleh Singapore Airlines;
 Penggabungan syarikat Valuair dari Singapura, dengan JetStar yang dimiliki oleh
Qantas Airways dari Australia;
 Nok Air, sebuah syarikat Thailand; dan
 Lion Air, sebuah syarikat Indonesia.

Fernandes telah menerima banyak anugerah, termasuknya:

 "Siri Pengkhayal-Pengkhayal dan Kepimpinan" (Visionaries & Leadership Series)

oleh International Herald Tribune, sebuah syarikat suratkhabar di Amerika Syarikat,
bagi kerjanya yang cemerlang di syarikat AirAsia;
 "Ketua Syarikat Malaysia bagi Tahun 2003" (Malaysian CEO of the Year 2003) pada
Disember, 2003 — sejenis anugerah tertinggi yang sehingga kini, hanya diberikan
kepada sembilan pengusaha di Malaysia oleh American Express dan Business Times.
Anugerah ini diberikan kepada Fernandes bagi mengakui prestasi pengusahaan dan
kemahiran pengurusannya di kalangan pemimpin-pemimpin syarikat-syarikat
Malaysia;
 "Pengusaha Baru Malaysia Yang Terutama Bagi Tahun 2003" (Emerging
Entrepreneur of the Year - Malaysia 2003) pada tahun 2004;
 "25 Bintang Asia" (25 Stars of Asia) oleh Business Week pada tahun 2005.

Tony Fernandes
 Dato' Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes (born 30 April 1964; also known as Tony
Fernandes) is a Malaysian entrepreneur and the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who
introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline
"Now everyone can fly".

 He rose to prominence by turning AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial

airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. Fernandes was
also instrumental in lobbying the then-Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir
Mohamad in mid-2003, to propose the idea of open skies agreements with
neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, these nations have
granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers.

Early years
Born in Kuala Lumpur to a Goan father and Malacca Portuguese mother, Dato' Sri Tony
Fernandes is the son of the late Stephen Edward Fernandes, and Ena Dorothy Fernandez.
When he was young, he used to follow his mother, a businesswoman, to Tupperware dealer
parties and conventions.

He was educated at Epsom College 1977-83 and then graduated from the London School of
Economics in 1987. He worked very briefly with Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently
becoming the financial controller for Richard Branson's Virgin Records in London from 1987
to 1989.
Tony was admitted as Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants (ACCA) in 1991 and became Fellow Member in 1996.

Upon his return to Malaysia, he became the youngest-ever managing director of Warner
Music (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. Though an accountant, Fernandes is an amateur guitarist and also
has achieved grade 8 piano which is where his musical inclination lies. He was responsible
for revolutionising ethnic music, nasyid and dangdut, bringing them into the mainstream of
contemporary Malaysian music.

He subsequently became the South East Asian regional vice-president for Warner Music
Group from 1992-2001. When Time Warner Inc announced its merger with America Online
Inc., Fernandes left to pursue his dream of starting a budget no-frills airline. However, his
application for a license from the Malaysian government was rejected.

Launching AirAsia
It was through Datuk Pahamin A. Rejab, the former secretary-general of the Malaysian
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry that Fernandes got to meet up with the then
Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in October 2001.

AirAsia, the heavily-indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate,

DRB-Hicom, was losing money speedily. Instead of starting from scratch, Mahathir advised
Fernandes to buy an existing airline instead. Fernandes mortgaged his home and sank his
savings to acquire the company, comprising two ageing Boeing 737-300 jets (9M-AAA and
9M-AAB) and USD$11 million (RM40 million) worth of debts, for 26 US cents (one
ringgit), and transformed it into an industry player.

Coming just after the 11 September 2001, undoubtedly the worst day in the history of
commercial aviation when nobody wanted to fly, everyone thought that Fernandes had gone
"crazy", predicting that the company would fail miserably. Yet, just 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 says his timing was in fact perfect: Since 11 September 2001, aircraft leasing costs
were down 40%. Also, airline lay-offs mean experienced staff were readily available. He
believed Malaysian travellers would embrace a cut-rate air service that will save them time
and money, especially in a tight economy. That was why he copied one of the world's most
successful no-frills carriers, Ryanair out of Ireland (which in turn is modelled after Southwest
Airlines in the United States). Fernandes thinks that about 50 per cent of the travellers on
Asia’s budget airlines are first-time flyers. Before AirAsia, he estimates that only six per cent
of Malaysians had ever travelled in a plane.

Other ventures
In 2007, Tony Fernandes has again created a "first" in Asia by starting a hotel chain, Tune
Hotels which is based on the no-frills concept. The first Tune Hotel was opened at the
intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in the heart of Kuala
Lumpur. Expansions are in the works as more hotels will be opened up throughout Malaysia.
Another new Tune Hotel will be opening soon in Bali, Indonesia.

As of 2009, Fernandes is also the president of the ABL (Asian Basketball League). Fernandes
has stated that it has always been a dream of his to be able to be involved with the
development of sports in the ASEAN region.

Lotus F1

Fernandes is the team principal of the new Lotus F1 Racing, which has been granted entry
into the 2010 Formula One season. Having initially planned to stand down from the role after
the season begins,[4] he has since indicated that he will carry on in this position.

On 16 December 2009, Fernandes accepted a "challenge" from Richard Branson, a fellow

airline boss and the owner of Lotus' fellow F1 newcomers Virgin Racing, where the losing
team's boss should work on the winner's airline for a day dressed as a stewardess joking "The
sexier the better. Our passengers will be delighted to be served by a Knight of the Realm, but
knowing Richard, the real challenge will be to prevent him from asking our guests 'coffee, tea
or me?' That would be scary." On top of this, the team also produced a poster depicting
Branson in an Air Asia uniform.

West Ham United

Fernandes is a fan of English Premier League club West Ham United and has been involved
in talks concerning a takeover of the club.

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 has indeed set in
motion the advent of budget carriers 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 Valuair and Jetstar Asia (partly owned by Qantas Airways) (both airlines merged
in 2005);
 Thailand's Nok Air;
 Indonesia's Lion Air;
 Vietnam's Jetstar Pacific (formerly Pacific Airlines), and
 Philippines's Cebu Pacific.

In 2004, AirAsia formed successful joint ventures in Thailand and Indonesia where AirAsia
holds 49% stake in both 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 guests in its first year of operations. PT AWAIR, re-launched as a
low fare airline on Dec 8th 2004 and subsequently re-named Indonesia AirAsia, presently
serves 5 domestic destinations in Indonesia.

Fernandes has received several awards for his outstanding 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 — a highly acclaimed recognition, 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"

Fernandes has also been honoured by the Malaysian government with title Dato Seri and also
by the government of France with the Legion d'Honneur title.[9]

Wealth
In 2010, Forbes Asia valued Fernandes' personal wealth at $330 million ranking him at
number 19 on the Forbes list of Malaysia's Richest.
Lampiran
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/84/malaysia-rich-10_Anthony-Fernandes_395F.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Fernandes
http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Fernandes