Tony Fernandes gets on board with Geelong

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 “the real icing on the cake”.

Speaking to this newspaper on Sunday, Mr Fernandes said it had taken 10 years for him to convince the airline’s board to make the decision.

“Our success is based on low fares, and if we can go somewhere that enables people to get lower fares, then I’ll do it; I don’t care about whether it’s slightly further. Actually, door to door, I think it’s going to be slightly quicker to get home (to Melbourne) from this airport than from Tullamarine.”

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.

“I didn’t see what a beautiful city it was – the Great Ocean Road, the art, the food, etcetera, and that’s a massive, massive benefit. I didn’t realise how many people lived here, so that’s made me even more confident.”

He said AirAsia X flights would offer outbound travellers connectivity to the whole Asia region.

“My 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.

“There’s no secret we’ve had a tough time here (recently), with the media blowing things out of proportion… that’s hardened our resolve to focus on Australia even more, and Avalon has given us that catalyst to do that.”