AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes recently travelled on Singapore Airlines because his own planes were sold out. Taking to Instagram, the Indian-origin CEO shared a glimpse of his seat inside the Singapore Airlines flight. "No seat on @flyairasia for three flights so had to take @singaporeair. Hehehe," Mr Fernandes wrote on Instagram. He also shared a picture of himself boarding the plane.
Take a look below:
Internet users were quick to react to Fernandes' post. While some users praised the AirAsia chief, others weren't buying his explanation.
"It is so refreshing to see the CEO of a private airline respect his customer bookings and not find a 'corporate' method to shuffle some passengers around," wrote one user. "Good choice you won't miss your flight now!" said another.
"Don't lie Tony. Even you don't wanna fly airasia," commented a third Instagram user. "Lol you had to take @singaporeair because of the seat quality given on your own company @flyairasia," quipped another.
Meanwhile, Mr Fernandes received backlash in October for attending a virtual meeting shirtless while getting a massage. In a now-deleted post, the AirAsia chief took to LinkedIn to appreciate the work culture of his company which allows him to get a massage while attending a management meeting. However, his post drew criticism from a lot of people on the internet who said that it seemed "inappropriate".
In the caption, Mr Fernandes wrote, "Was a stressful week and Veranita Yosephine suggested a massage. Got to love Indonesia and AirAsia culture that I Can have a massage and do a management meeting. We are making big progress and I have now finalized Capital A structure. Exciting days ahead. Proud of what we have built and never have lost sight of the finish".
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After facing backlash, the AirAsia chief then shared another post, making a veiled reference to the controversy. Mr Fernandes wrote, "Busy day. After all the attention I got and with so much positive stuff going on decided to stay at the office. Allstars did a special Outdoor BBQ for me". He also referred to the company's work culture and wrote, "What kept us going during Covid and what's going to make us stronger is our amazing culture and spirit which again I saw yesterday with the tremendous support I continue to get through this rebuilding phase."
He concluded the post by saying, "Stay strong and always be positive".
