‘I will not forget the lessors who have treated us badly’: AirAsia chief

AirAsia Group CE Tony Fernandes says he has found it “painful” how a minority of lessors have treated the business during the Covid-19 crisis. Fernandes stated Wednesday that most lessors “have been fantastic”, but “not every lessor”. “My most important lesson from this is you could be paying someone for 19 years, you could have grown their business… they’ve made so much money from us, but they forget that in one week when you miss a payment,” he says, without naming the lessors he is referring to. “It is painful to see how we’re treated sometimes.” Describing AirAsia as “a very emotional airline”, Fernandes says he “will not forget the guys who have treated us badly after we’ve treated them so well, and I’m so motivated”. There was “nothing I could do” when the group was unable to operate flights, Fernandes insists regarding the business’s ability to meet its financial commitments during the crisis. “It’s amazing we’re still alive after 16 months”, he adds, but AirAsia will “come back stronger”. During that recovery, AirAsia will “not forget the guys who have treated us great”, he notes.<br/>