SEPANG: Low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd believes that having the right people would maximise its ability to grow, particularly in air traffic.
AirAsia group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the airline’s big driver are digital data scientists, who would enhance its operations significantly.
“For many years, we have been trying to grow our air traffic. We are seeing the brain power from an enormous amount of talent in universities.
“We are harnessing university talent to do research for us, which will help us grow,” he said after launching the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) livery on an AirAsia aircraft in Sepang today.
Fernandes said the airline’s partnership with UPM is a win-win proposition, particularly in research, with the best students from UPM doing internship in AirAsia, and in providing job opportunities.
“It’s an ongoing process. We try to work with UPM to provide all-round students so that when they come to the corporation, they will be able to participate and be creative as well as innovative.
“We have also unleashed a massive amount of talent through the CEO’s faculty programme in UPM.
“It was not just for the students to learn but also for corporate leaders to learn what universities can give them.”
Fernandes said there is so much AirAsia can do with the university, leveraging the e-commerce platform and “we unearthed something that we never thought about before”.
UPM’s livery on AirAsia’s Airbus A320-200 aircraft comes with the celebration of its academia’s industry partnership.
With a budget of US$50,000, the livery was designed by UPM’s Faculty of Design and Architecture.
UPM vice-chancellor Professor Datin Paduka Dr Aini Ideris said UPM is pleased to be the first university to have an aircraft livery on an AirAsia plane.
“As UPM’s strategic partner, AirAsia has set aside the commercial aspects of this project and stressed on the importance of knowledge and why institutions of higher education should be uplifted,” she said.
Aini pointed out that through this non-commercial initiative, AirAsia has provided a platform for UPM in the field of design, creativity and art for high-impact projects.
Fernandes said Airasia is also working on other initiatives that would benefit the university and the airline, including student and staff mobility, an internship for students as well as executive and research programmes on aerospace.
On discounts for Malaysian students, Fernandes said the current fares are already quite cheap.
“Students always get the benefit. They have more time to book early. Currently, we have a zero-fare campaign, where a large proportion of tickets has been taken up by students and retirees.
“We give a lot of offers and we work with universities, especially on research trips and field studies.”
Fernandes concurred that it is better for the airline to offer low fares to all.
