‘War of the Tonys’ erupts

PETALING JAYA: A war of words has erupted between two budget airlines in the region, with Singapore-based Tiger Airways accusing the AirAsia boss of making a racial slur with his “white guys” remark. AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes’ comments to Bangkok Post on Tiger Airways’ plan to partner Thai Airways to set up a budget carrier in Thailand, has left its management fuming. Fernandes, however, is sticking to his guns and not budging. Tiger Airways is headed by Tony Davis, a British, who is both president and chief executive officer of the airline. He was also the founding managing director of bmibaby, a British low-fare carrier which took off in 2002.

In the Bangkok Post article, Fernandes was quoted as saying he was sceptical over Westerners running any successful Asia-based businesses, pointing out that Thai AirAsia is run by a Thai management that is well versed with the local and Asian markets. “We’re Asians, not a bunch of white guys running the airlines,” Fernandes was quoted as saying. The report irked Tiger Airways which issued a statement, saying they were “disappointed and surprised” by Fernandes’ “racial remarks against Tiger Airways”. “While we understand that we are intensifying the level of competition with our expansion across Asia, resorting to racial slurs is unbecoming and unnecessary,” the statement issued on Friday said.

Reports by Singapore’s The Straits Times and TODAY said Fernandes stood by his comments, and that his remarks were neither racial nor a general statement of all Westerners running Asia-based businesses. “I gave my honest opinion. I was just talking about the Westerners in Tiger Airways’ management who do not know Asia very well,” Fernandes told The Straits Times. He also told the daily that there were many Westerners in AirAsia and AirAsia X management.

In the Bangkok Post interview, Fernandes joined other industry figures in questioning the move to create Thai Tiger Airways (TTA), claiming that Tiger Airways was an “odd” choice for a business ally given its problems, especially with pilot shortage and flight cancellations. “They have not yet been able to solve their problems, so what are they going to teach the Thai (Airways),” Fernandes told the Bangkok Post.

-thestar online.