Sabah could be next Dubai, says Fernandes
KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes sees the Malaysian state of Sabah as the next big destination for international air links.
“Sabah has done an amazing job for AirAsia. It has great potential. It could be the next Dubai,“ he said.
Fernandes said he favoured Sabah as a hub for AirAsia long haul operations, initially serving China and Australia.
Penang has been touted as a new low cost hub following the launch there of Malaysia Airlines’ budget Firefly brand but Fernandes said Sabah was a more likely focus of AirAsia operations.
The Malaysian government says it will be fair in distributing new air service rights between Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia long haul.
Dato Sri Chan Kong Choy, Malaysia’s Minister of Transport, said recent talks with his counterpart in Australia would be continued in the middle of the year. “I have requested that airlines of each country are allowed to fly more services. For our part, we are asking for more rights to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.”
Chan said the Malaysian government was committed to AirAsia because the airline would drive traffic into Malaysia with particular benefit to the tourism sector.
Fernandes said his philosophy was that “life is like a supermarket”.
“You never get anything if you wait for someone to get it for you. We’ve been sincere, we’ve been passionate and we’ve gone out and got what we wanted.”
by Ian Jarrett
Ian Jarrett
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