10 Facts About Air Asia You Probably Didn’t Know Of

You must be familiar with Air Asia, the low-cost airline from Malaysia. It has some negative “airtime” on and off, but it is still one of those reliable low-cost airlines that you can take without fearing for your life.

How much do you know about Air Asia? Probably not much, just like the rest of us. Let’s explore some interesting facts about Air Asia.

Tony Fernandes, group CEO of AirAsia, bought it for RM1 in 2001
This may be well known for some but the rest of us may be clueless. The reason the company was sold for RM1 was because it had a RM40 million debt! Technically, the company was bought for RM40,000,001.

AirAsia started with 2 aging aircrafts
When it was first started in 2001, the fledging company only has 2 aging aircrafts. Sounds scary if you have placed your life in those “aging” planes back then!

AirAsia now flies 174 aircrafts
In 16 years, the company has made so much changes that it now flies 174 aircrafts, covering 225 routes to connect 109 cities in 18 countries.

AirAsia is expanding its fleet of aircraft by end of 2017
If you are a frequent flyer of AirAsia, you will be happy to know that it is expanding its fleet to 202 aircrafts by end of the year. That means more planes for more flights to the places that you want to go!

AirAsia has flown millions of passengers
Since 2001, AirAsia has flown 369 million passengers. You and me are definitely part of that count. If that is not impressive enough, AirAsia has flown 56.6 million passengers just last year!

AirAsia has an aircraft turnaround time of 25 minutes
Is that a miracle or what? To achieve a turnaround time of 25 minutes for all its flights, AirAsia needs to have a fantastic crew productivity. Yes, they have one definitely, and the crew performs way better than Malaysian Airline!

AirAsia is worth RM10 billion as a company but US$535 million as a brand according to Brand Finance
Check out that awesome number! Gosh, it’s worth as a brand is more than 4.3 times its actual value in USD, making it one of the most valuable airline brands in the world! Just imagine how rich Tony Fernandes will be if he sells the company. Maybe he can buy another football club then?

AirAsia owns many other businesses
AirAsia currently owns 5 other businesses besides its main airline business. AirAsia-Expedia, Asia Aviation Centre of Excellence, Asia Aviation Capital, T&Co Coffee as well as BigPay are all part of the AirAsia Group.

AirAsia is pioneering more new ventures
AirAsia is also pioneering more new ventures such as Travel360 and Touristly that is complementary to its main airline business. Travel360 is its own inflight magazine while Touristly is a trip planner that helps travellers book trips and activities within Asia and Australia easily and securely.

AirAsia won Skytrax’s “World’s Best Low-Cost Airline” award for 8 years running
Now, that is an amazing feat for a low-cost airline. To win an award from Skytrax is not easy, let alone to win it 8 years from 2008 to 2016.