Laugh all you want, but one day, AirAsia will be bigger than Singapore Airlines (SIA).
This is the brash claim of the Malaysian budget airline's chief, Mr Tony Fernandes, who added: 'We are already carrying more passengers than SIA.'
Dressed in a blue polo T-shirt and jeans, sans his signature AirAsia red cap, he exuded self-confidence - that some might perceive as arrogance - during an exclusive interview in Kuala Lumpur last week.
He said: 'I'm sure many people who read this report will laugh at us.
'That's okay. It's good to dream. It's good to have a mission. It's better to do that than sit down and say, 'I'm never going to be as good as SIA'.
'What's the point of getting up in the morning? We want to be as good as the best.'
AirAsia has carried 47 million passengers to date. Its media relations officer, Ms Janet Leow, revealed that from advance bookings so far, AirAsia would reach 50 million passengers by June this year.
Mr Fernandes added: 'Last year, we carried 16 million passengers and SIA's figure was lower.
'This year, we will be carrying about 20 million passengers and SIA will be carrying about 18 million.'
SIA posted a net profit of $1.52 billion for the nine months ended December 2007. Its financial year ends in March. In comparison, AirAsia made about RM452million ($197m) in pre-tax profit for 2007.
So are these brave words just a pipe dream for Mr Fernandes?
He said: 'It's a truth that we carry more passengers. We're only 6 years old. SIA is 35.
'It has the backing of Temasek Holdings and the Singapore Government. Here, it's little me and four other guys who started this airline.
'Look at what we've done in six years. We grew faster than Malaysia Airlines or SIA.
'So why can't we be bigger (one day)?'
Still, the flamboyant businessman admitted that 'profit wise', he was far from his target.
The 44-year-old Malaysian, who is also chairman of Singapore Slingers (a franchise basketball team who play in Australia's National Basketball League), added: 'But that's my target.
'You always set yourself targets and SIA is one of the best airlines in the world.'
Asked if he thinks that SIA will sit back and let him fly past, he said, 'No'.
'I think SIA has responded by investing in Tiger Airways,' Mr Fernandes said with a snigger, adding that he didn't think Tiger was a threat to AirAsia.
'I think SIA also realises that we're in a market it is not interested in. I've always predicted what SIA is doing now.
'I always said the airline industry would go two ways - one that focuses on the low-cost segment and the other on the premium segment.'
He added: 'Singapore thrives on competition. I used it too. I used them (SIA) as a benchmark, they probably used us.'
'TOO EXPENSIVE'
When told of Mr Fernandes' claims, Singapore Airlines responded by saying it's a different airline from AirAsia and that a comparison based on passenger numbers alone was meaningless.
Tiger Airways said it has firmly established itself as a leading low-fare airline in the Asia-Pacific region.
AirAsia flies to 49 destinations.
Though Mr Fernandes is a frequent flyer and a big admirer of SIA, he said he finds it 'too expensive' to fly Singapore's national carrier.
He would love to travel in the Airbus A380 one day though.
Mr Fernandes, who is part Goan and part Malaccan Portuguese, graduated from the London School of Economics and became an accountant.
He sprinted up the corporate ladder and, at 28, became the youngest vice-president of South-east Asia's Warner Music Group.
But Mr Fernandes wanted to fly higher - by fulfilling his childhood dream of owning anairline.
So he approached former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad for a licence to start a new airline in Malaysia.
Dr Mahathir persuaded him to take over AirAsia for RM1.
Mr Fernandes mortgaged his home and dumped his savings into a business that was near bankruptcy.
AirAsia, the heavily-indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom, was losing money big-time, had only two planes and was RM25m in debt.
The deal was struck in 2001, a few days after New York's World Trade Centre was attacked by terrorists. It seemed like the worst time to start an airline, particularly in Asia which also saw the Sars epidemic and terrorist bombings in Bali.
But Mr Fernandes saw opportunities.
He hired pilots and airline crews retrenched by other airlines and relaunched AirAsia.
He offered low-cost, no-frills travel with the tagline, 'Now Everyone Can Fly'.
Last month, AirAsia flew into Singapore and now offers two flights a day from Changi Airport to Kuala Lumpur.
ELATED
Mr Fernandes said: 'I'm elated. We have 91 per cent load factor. I wish we have more flights. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.'
His next target destination is India.
Aiming to be as popular as global brand Coca-Cola, Mr Fernandes has dumped huge sums of money for his airline to be associated with Manchester United football club and Formula One - part of his branding strategy.
He said: 'I know many people will laugh at me when I make that statement. But my whole life, people have laughed at me.
'From the moment we started AirAsia... 'This guy is a nut case, will go bankrupt'.
'But slowly, slowly we're getting there.'
This article was first published in The New Paper on Mar 26, 2008.
