1. COMPANY BACKGROUND
AirAsia Berhad was established in 1993 and began operations on 18 November 1996. It was originally founded by government owned conglomerate, DRB Hicom. On 2 December 2001, the heavily in debted airline was bought by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes’s company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit (about USD 0.26 at the time) with USD 11 million (MYR 40 million) worth of debts. Fernandes turned the company around, producing a profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur.
AirAsia is a Malaysian low-cost airline headquartered in Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Sepang. It is Asia’s largest low-fare, no frills airline and a pioneer of low cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Its affiliate airlines are Thai AirAsia, Indonesia Airasia, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Japan, which have hubs in Don Mueng International Airport, Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Clark International Airport and Narita International Airport.
The low cost structure of Air Asia is entrenched in the organization in their mission statement, which is to “To continue to be the lowest cost short-haul airline in every market we serve, delivering strong organic growth through offering the lowest airfares at a profit” (AirAsia 2011), and their vision statement “To be the largest low cost airline in Asia and serving the 3 billion people who are currently underserved with Air Asia creates values through vision and mission.
1. MISSION
1. To be the best company to work for whereby employees are treated as part of a big family 2. Create a globally recognized ASEAN brand 3. To attain the lowest cost so that everyone can fly with AirAsia 4.