Tony Fernandes Quotations

Aviation is for the common man. My goal is to enable everyone to fly. It shouldn't be only for the rich.

When I started my airline business, I didn't know everything, right? If I start up a newspaper tomorrow, I might get ripped off by journalists. You'd be naive to think you know everything from day one.

I'm not cynical or bitter in any way. Life's too short; you get ripped off, but if you hold a grudge, it's going to affect you. You take it on the chin, you learn, you try not to make the same mistakes.

Winning is an amazing feeling. You don't get that in business; you don't get that in many things.

Good leadership is to know when to go, and you only succeed as a good leader if you've transported someone else in and the company gets stronger. Then you've succeeded as leader.

In AirAsia, we consider ourselves basically a dream factory. We deliberately decided that we wanted a company where people can pursue their passion, and we wanted to make use of all the talent that we have in-house.

I look for people who have drive, who have ambition, who are humble. I've hired many people at very strange places.

My whole life has always been about looking for that person that money can't buy in that they've got a bee in their bonnet.

My whole life's been stability. People who have worked with me have for a long time. Air Asia is the same people who started it.

Passion is just something that comes naturally to me.

If you have a great product but no one knows about it, it's history.

I don't care about failing because I do not want to sit down in my older years and say, 'How come I didn't try?'

The music and airlines businesses are tough, but I've been successful in them.

I think airlines have been very much parrots. They'll just follow what everyone else is doing. Why change a model that they're happy in? And it takes someone like myself or Richard Branson who comes from outside the industry to say, 'Hey, let's try something new.'

I've lived in Jakarta and have seen a lot more by living here, and I understand that there's so much more to Indonesia than just Bali and Jakarta.

In Europe, they travel a lot lighter. I always joke that my Indonesian passengers bring their house and their neighbors house.

Airlines are one of the last things to be liberalized.

When the music business failed to embrace the Internet, I thought it was game, set and match for the industry, and I quit.

Don't kid yourself that anyone in the Premier League is going to do you any favours.

I came from the music business, which reputedly has the biggest egos, but I really think the airline world caps it.

I don't know if every player in the Premier League feels hurt when they lose a game. The right sort is very important. I was naive in thinking that everyone was like me.

Watch out, Singapore, is all I have to say.

I think high oil prices will sort out the efficient and non-efficient players in the airline industry,

We have some teething issues but other than that everything is great.

The pilots cannot get over the fact that I have a cup of coffee with the guys who carry the bags. My secretary will (even) go out and help clean the planes if we are running into a delay.

Both of us working together will win big-time. With so much global competition, it really makes sense to combine our strength.

It was strange when I first came to the airline. The pilots freaked out because they suddenly saw their CEO pushing the ladder (to the plane),

It's a dream come true for us. A few years ago we were just a two-plane operation and now we have our own home.

Ive lived in Jakarta and have seen a lot more by living here, and I understand that theres so much more to Indonesia than just Bali and Jakarta.

The passengers were on my aircraft, and I have to take responsibility for that.

Aviation is for the common man. My goal is to enable everyone to fly. It shouldnt be only for the rich.

Winning is an amazing feeling. You dont get that in business; you dont get that in many things.

As long as we are enjoying ourselves, that's the most important thing

Human rights means that each individual should be treated with respect, dignity and equality.

I look for people who have drive, who have ambition, who are humble. Ive hired many people at very strange places.

Believe the unbelievable. Dream the impossible. Never take 'No' for an answer!