The Rise And Rise Of Air Asia
Air Asia was not an airline that saw success from its initial years. In fact, from the year 1993 when it was established till the year 2001, the airline saw nothing but a downward spiral and this actually saw the airline facing mounted losses up to the tune of USD 11 million. It was only in December 2001 that Tony Fernandes, the guru of low cost airlines in the modern era, took over the reins of the airline and the airline hasn’t looked back since.
Immediately after the takeover there was a massive change in the way things were done. Every effort was taken to revive the airline and turn it into a performing unit rather than a sick one. The first aspect that was taken care of in style was the marketing tactics of Air Asia. The airline began to sell itself as an airline that was meant for the people, and how! The airline with a mission started offering fares to passengers as low as MYR 1, a factor that made it the biggest news in aviation circles as well as passengers. Passengers booked their tickets by the hordes and soon the airline was doing business like never before.
The new tactics bore fruit and the airline soon managed to achieve a U-turn that few other companies in the world can boast of. From continual losses, the airline managed to book profits the very first year after its new management took over and Air Asia has seen an upward climb since then.