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www.travelweekly-asia.com 2 | ITB ASIA OFFICIAL DAILIES talking point Published by NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD SINGAPORE 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652 • TEL: +65-6801-0450 FAX: +65-6801-0469 BEIJING Room 024, Building 8, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound, No.9 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 100600, China • TEL: +8610-8532 3611 | FAX: +8610-8532 5293 SHANGHAI Room 2553, The Headquarters Building, No.168 Central XiZhang Road, Shanghai 200001, China • TEL: +8621-5179 8360 | FAX: +8621-5179 8360 Travel Weekly Asia is published on a monthly basis by Northstar Travel Media Singapore Pte Ltd. For reprints or copyright permission contact Travel Weekly Asia at +65 6801 0450 or email to twasia-salesmtg@travelweekly.com Printed by TIMES PRINTERS PRIVATE LIMITED (LOO7/08/2015) NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP (ASIA) GROUP PUBLISHER Irene Chua Tel: (65) 6801 0451 | ichua@travelweekly.com EDITORIAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Yeoh Siew Hoon Tel: (65) 6801 0450 | syeoh@ntmllc.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Esther Faith Lew Tel: (65) 6801 0457 | esther.lew@ntmllc.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE Ian Jarrett Tel: (618) 9433 6455 | ian.jarrett@travelweekly.com SUB EDITOR Vera Lye | veralye@gmail.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Lee Xin Hui Tel: (65) 6801 0453 | xinhui.lee@ntmllc.com WRITER Corinne Wan Tel: (603) 2201 1979 | corinne.wan@travelweekly.com HONG KONG CORRESPONDENT Catharine Nicol | cn@monsterpix.hk CONTRIBUTORS Mark Lean, Brittany Panter, Brooke Thio and Marissa Trew ART DIRECTOR Lim Bee Bee Tel: (65) 9750 8405 | bb.bbcreative@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Ng Whey Whey Tel: (65) 6801 0460 | whey.ng@ntmllc.com REGIONAL SALES MANAGER Kevin Ng Tel: (65) 6801 0459 | kevin.ng@ntmllc.com MARKETING EXECUTIVE Rachelle Lee Tel: (65) 6801 0458 | rachelle.lee@ntmllc.com AD TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Rena Koh Tel: (65) 6801 0455 | rena.koh@ntmllc.com IT & DIGITAL IT & DIGITAL OPERATIONS Ron Wee Tel: (65) 6801 0456 | ron.wee@ntmllc.com CHINA OFFICE GROUP PUBLISHER (China) Rebecca Zhang Tel: (8621) 5179 8363 | rebecca.zhang@ntmllc.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Shawn Li Tel: (8610) 8532 4021 | shawn.li@travelweekly.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Roger Wang Tel: (8621) 5179 8360 | roger.wang@travelweekly.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Susan Li Tel: (8610) 8532 3611 | susan.li@travelweekly.com MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES HONG KONG/MACAU ZAM International - Manna Ma Tel: (852) 9650 0518 | manna.ma@zamintl.com.hk KOREA Young Media Inc - Keon Chang Tel: (822) 2273 4833 | ymedia@chol.com INDIA MHI Communications - Smriti Khanna Tel: (9198) 1040 7483 | skhanna@mhi.com.hk AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR - ASIA Patti Mo | patti.mo@travelweekly.com DATABASE & FULFILLMENT MANAGER Zoe Chu | zoe.chu@travelweekly.com FINANCE ASIA FINANCE MANAGER Julia Tham | julia.tham@ntmllc.com NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Thomas L. Kemp CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Lisa Cohen PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, DIGITAL MEDIA Thomas Cintorino EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, GROUP PUBLISHER David Blansfield SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lori Cioffi SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Arnie Weissmann SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES Janine L. Bavoso VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING SOLUTIONS Michelle Rosenberg VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION Roberta Muller VICE PRESIDENT, CONTENT LICENSING Sheila Rice VICE PRESIDENT, IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS Rich Mastropietro VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS Elizabeth Koesser TRAVEL WEEKLY EVENTS PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP Robert G. Sullivan SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EVENTS, TRAVEL GROUP Alicia Evanko-Lewis Ian Jarrett is a widely travelled and experienced writer specialising in hospitality and aviation. His work has appeared in a variety of consumer and travel trade titles, and online newswires. Recent travels have taken him to Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Seoul, Kazakhstan, United Kingdom and Bali, although he is just as happy walking with his dog on a local beach. Some years ago I wrote a story headlined, 'The Man Who Wants to Take Over the World'. That man was Tony Fernandes who, at the time, was embarking on a very risky venture to bring budget airlines to Asia in the face of much scepticism among traditional carriers that a former Warner Music executive would be able to get his two Boeing 737-300 aircraft - bought for one ringgit in a fire sale - off the ground. Fernandes had been inspired by the success of no-frills airlines Easyjet and Ryanair in Europe and reckoned that Asia was a bigger, untapped market crying out for cheap air travel. Soon after, when I met Fernandes at an aviation forum, he played down any ambition to rule the world, but I was left with the impression that his plans for AirAsia stretched far beyond Malaysia. It's been well documented that one year after his one-ringgit deal, AirAsia had broken even and cleared its debts. Expansion has followed with joint ventures in Indonesia, Thailand and India. Tune Hotels and Tune Money also followed as Fernandes continued to defy his detractors by expanding the AirAsia Group empire. Along the way, he has been helped by some very capable executives, including Kathleen Tan, AirAsia's president of North Asia, who Fernandes says, "was the first to spot the massive potential of China when no budget airlines operated to it". AirAsia X had its wings clipped when it canned flights to London and Paris but it has since promised to restore these services and connect them with its other long-haul routes. Personal ventures into motor racing and English soccer have been less successful but Fernandes, even when he's been floored, doesn't stay down for long. He recently told Bloomberg that growing up as a kid in Kuala Lumpur, he always wanted to own an airline. "I said that to my father. He said, 'You make it past the doorman at the Hilton Hotel, I will be pleased'. Those were the exact words. I still remember that." Doormen at the Hilton now salute Fernandes. Today, AirAsia and its affiliates cover Asia from India to Japan and fly south to Australia and New Zealand. Not quite the world but a fair chunk of it. Most of all, Fernandes' achievement has been growing a pan-ASEAN airline (50.7 million passengers in 2015), and in doing so has he delivered hundreds of thousands of visitors to destinations across Asia. He has helped countries like Thailand weather crisis after crisis and yet still post record visitor numbers; he has brought planeloads of Australians to Bali and filled Boeing 737s with Malaysians flying to destinations across Asia. Residents of second and third-tier cities in China are being connected like never before. As AirAsia correctly boasts, 'Now everyone can fly'. And now everyone should say, "Thanks a lot, Tony". SALUTING A HERO

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