AIRASIA founder and chief executive officer Tony Fernandes says he has no regrets about moving his airline from Tullamarine to Avalon, and that the attractions of the surrounding region are \u201cthe real icing on the cake\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking to this newspaper on Sunday, Mr Fernandes said it had taken 10 years for him to convince the airline\u2019s board to make the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur success is based on low fares, and if we can go somewhere that enables people to get lower fares, then I\u2019ll do it; I don\u2019t care about whether it\u2019s slightly further. Actually, door to door, I think it\u2019s going to be slightly quicker to get home (to Melbourne) from this airport than from Tullamarine.\u201d<\/p>\n
He visited Geelong for the first time the day before the announcement of international flights from Avalon to Malaysia, and said he previously thought of Geelong as an industrial town.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see what a beautiful city it was \u2013 the Great Ocean Road, the art, the food, etcetera, and that\u2019s a massive, massive benefit. I didn\u2019t realise how many people lived here, so that\u2019s made me even more confident.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said AirAsia X flights would offer outbound travellers connectivity to the whole Asia region.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy job is all about lowering fares and giving you as low cost a flight as possible, as high quality a flight as possible, and a safe flight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no secret we\u2019ve had a tough time here (recently), with the media blowing things out of proportion\u2026 that\u2019s hardened our resolve to focus on Australia even more, and Avalon has given us that catalyst to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AIRASIA founder and chief executive officer Tony Fernandes says he has no regrets about moving his airline from Tullamarine to Avalon, and that the attractions of the surrounding region are \u201cthe real icing on the cake\u201d. Speaking to this newspaper on Sunday, Mr Fernandes said it had taken 10 years for him to convince the […]<\/p>\n