KUALA LUMPUR - The budget airline tycoon Tony Fernandes says he has has put aside retirement plans and signed a new five-year contract to continue as chief executive of Capital A, the holding company of AirAsia.
Fernandes, who will turn 60 next week, said in January that he intended to retire within the next five years. But on Wednesday he said he made the decision to renew his contract following requests from the company’s board to stay on.
“Retirement plans had to be put on hold to ensure we survive,” he told reporters.
Fernandes has headed the company since 2001, when Tune Air, the company he and business partner Kamarudin Meranun founded, took over AirAsia from the Malaysian government for 1 ringgit.
AirAsia, which began with two aircraft, has since become one of Asia’s largest airlines with a fleet of some 200 planes serving markets including Southeast Asia and China.
But it was hard hit by pandemic travel restrictions, leading the Malaysian bourse to classify Capital A as a PN17 company, or financially distressed.
Fernandes reiterated that Capital A was working on a restructuring plan to lift the PN17 designation, expressing confidence that its aviation business would return to pre-pandemic levels by the second half of the year.
The company is also expected to announce updates to its plan to merge its long-haul unit AirAsia X with its other airline operations by the end of this month, Fernandes said.
“We hope by June, July, we will have all our aircraft back,” he said. “2025 is when you’ll see AirAsia is better than in 2019.”
AirAsia, a major customer of Airbus, may also consider other suppliers, including the Chinese plane manufacturer Comac, as it looks to expand its fleet amid an industry-wide supply crunch, Fernandes said.
“Never say never. … I think the most important thing is that we want to grow,” he said.
AirAsia X shares jumped 5% on Wednesday, compared with a 0.5% rise in Malaysia’s benchmark share index. Capital A shares rose 1.5%.