AirAsia - now everybody can be impressed...

I did not find it easy to contact AirAsia. They do not seem to have a straightforward system I could use to ensure that my letter went through the right channels to the people that really mattered. Not that I could find anyway. So I did what most people do when they come to a dead end. I googled. After a little searching I discovered the personal blog of the founder of Air Asia, as it is today, Tony Fernandes, to whom I sent my ‘letter of grievance.’ I explained that it was not a complaint letter as such because I did not expect anything from it except perhaps a hightened level of awareness from staff on such issues. I was astounded and impressed to receive the very next day a reply from Tony Fernandes himself:

"Thanks for the note. Bo is our Head of Operations and will look into this matter seriously."

tony

It would not have been foolish of me, owing to the level of personal attention usually given to matters such as these by large corporations, to have assumed it would be the last I would hear of the issue. But sure enough, the Head of Operations from AirAsia, Bo Lingam, wrote to me later that same day:

Dear Nick,

“Thank you for the note. We do not condone such behavior from our staff. They will be called for a meeting and cautioned. I will inform the airport authorities to increase their security sweep.”

Kind regards,
Bo Lingam

I even responded to this out of courtesy, mentioning how impressed I was that a) they were taking the matter so seriously and that b) I received correspondence so quickly for an issue that had been passed on from the original recipient. This was also replied to:

“No excuse when u have the Blackberry. Appreciate u flying us and please continue to give us feedback.

Have a great weekend.”

Not only was I amazed that I heard from them at all, I was impressed to witness how down-to-earth they were. I was not sure initially what to expect from my letter as I did not want it to come across as just another complaint – the kind of which I am sure they must receive plenty since the general public are very often so hard to please.

AirAsia is an award-winning airline, founded and developed in to what it is today by the entrepreneurial skills and ingenuity of Tony Fernandes, so I am quite sure it does not need any plugs from me. But credit where credit is due, I always say. And as the paintwork of one of AirAsia’s planes illustrates, by its elaborate design in a series called ‘AirAsia Allstars’, Bo does actually Rock.

Tony Fernandes

Bo Lingam