Flying High - Tony Fernandes' memoirs

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes launched his memoirs, Flying High, a look back at his journey from music to the airline industry.

 

“Flying High is a story about the power of dreams. When I first started AirAsia with Datuk Kamarudin (Meranum), everyone thought we were crazy.

 

"They said we had no business running an airline and it wouldn’t work. If we had listened to them, we would have given up before we even started and this book wouldn’t exist," Fernandes said at the launch of the book on Sunday (Oct 29).

 

“This book is proof that dreams do come true, and I hope it will encourage others to pursue their true passion.

 

"Believe the unbelievable, dream the impossible and never take no for an answer.

 

"Even if you fail, it doesn’t matter because at least you’ve tried and you can do it again, so trust in your gut feeling, don’t listen to anyone else’s advice and go ahead - write your own incredible story.”

 

The launch was attended by Kamarudin, AirAsia's co-founder and executive chairman, AirAsia Malaysia independent director Datuk Fam Lee Ee, AirAsia Malaysia CEO Aireen Omar, AirAsia X Malaysia CEO Benyamin Ismail, AirAsia Thailand CEO Tassapon Bijleveld, AirAsia Group CEO for Indonesia Dendy Kurniawan, and AirAsia India CEO Amar Abrol.

 

Flying High recounts Fernandes’ journey from a young boy growing in Malaysia to a homesick British boarding school student with a tuck box full of dreams, all the way to his time at Warner Music and finally as AirAsia chief - with plenty of stops along memory lane in between.

 

Learn about what drives Fernandes and the moments that shaped him, including a chance encounter with Virgin Group founder, Sir Richard Branson, which eventually led to Fernandes’ first job out of university.

 

Published as Fernandes returns as the face of the second series of Apprentice Asia, the book is an inspiring personal story of an exceptional business leader who created Asia's first budget airline and democratised air travel in Asia, building AirAsia into a multi-billion-dollar company in the process.

 

Retailing at RM86.95 (inclusive of GST), Flying High is available now at all major bookstores, pre-book on bigdutyfree.com and on board AirAsia flights and onbigdutyfree.com from Nov 6.