CEO's favourite song

Radiostar-Pada Senyummu

Sales & Marketing Executive Director, AirAsia Borneo

Miss Amera Hanna Mohd. Tajuddin

D.O.B: 2 February 1988

Birthplace: Kuala Lumpur General Hospital, Kuala Lumpur.

Hand phone number: 016-8992222

E-mail: amerahanna@yahoo.com

Current Job: Sales & Marketing Executive Director, AirAsia Borneo

Strengths:

·         Determined

·         Ambitious

·         Team player

·         Enterprising

·         Progressive and prolific writer

 Interests:

·         Writing and reading articles

·         Photography

·         Outdoor & nature activities

·         Cooking & baking

·         Weblog (http://amerahanna.wordpress.com)

Corporate Communication Executive Director, AirAsia Borneo

Name: Nur Shuahdah Binti Marzuki

DOB: 17 July 1987

Birthplace: Hospital Besar, Kuala Lumpur

HP Number: 013 2471527

Email: shuhadah_marzuki@hotmail.com

Current Job:  Corporate Communication Executive Director, AirAsia Borneo

Strengths:

·         Good Communication Skills
·         Friendly and easy to get close
·         High determination in fulfill task
·         Easy Going and very commit towards the job given

Interests:
·         Diving and extreme water sports
·         Animals especially cats
·         Love  to explore new places
·         Equestrian
·         Reading travelogue journal
·         Health and Beauty 

Regional Human Resource Executive Director, AirAsia Borneo

Name: Miss Syuziani Hidayah Shukri

DOB: 21 August 1987

Birthplace: Kedah Medical Centre, Alor Setar, Kedah.

HP number: 017-3518867

Current Job: Regional Human Resource Executive Director, AirAsia Borneo

Strengths:

·         Efficient
·         Friendly
·         Creative
 

Interests:

·         Super Junior
·         Cooking & baking

CEO and Financial Executive Officer, AirAsia Borneo

Name: Dato’ Nurhidayah Zainodin

DOB: 9 May 1988

Birthplace: Kuching, Sarawak

HP Number: 017 6751234

Email: nurhidayahzainodin@yahoo.com

Current Job: CEO of AirAsia Borneo / Financial Executive Officer

Strengths:

·         Excellent communication skills
·         Passionate on managing the aviation industry
·         15 years experience in aviation industry
·         Have determination on fulfill the task
·         A good leader
·         Friendly but at the same time firm in making decisions

Interests:

·         Aviation Industry
·         Painting
·         Horse riding/ Equestrian
·         Golf
·         Health and Beauty
·         Visiting historical places
·         Collecting antiques jewelries
·         Cooking

I will keep it in mind

Dear Amanda, 

As the CEO of AirAsia Borneo, I really do have the interest towards the project that you have proposed. I would be happy to support your project and will be giving full corporation towards it. I will set up meetings with you so that we can discuss more about the proposal. Thank you so much for the proposal. I really appreciate it and I am looking forward to meet  up with you soon, have a good day and Salam 1 Malaysia.

Flying with me!

AirAsia Borneo welcome you!

AirAsia Borneo breaks world sales record!

Kuching, 11 March 20111 – AirAsia Borneo achieved another world record, this time by selling more than 500,000 seats in 24 hours!

The world’s best low-cost airline sold its record-breaking 538,000 seats yesterday, the first day of its Mind Blowing Fare campaign, which offers a mind-boggling RM1 airfare for domestic and international flights.

AirAsia Borneo bested its previous record of 390,000 seats sold in a day, achieved when it ran its Free Seats campaign across the entire AirAsia Borneo Group (AirAsia Borneo Berhad, Indonesia AirAsia Borneo, and Thai AirAsia Borneo  last February.

Also yesterday, AirAsia Borneo recorded its highest number of seat sales in an hour, selling 36,871 seats, a 47.5% increase from the previous record of 25,000. The ongoing Mind Blowing Fare promotion offers RM1 airfare for bookings made from 10 – 15 August 2010 for travel between 1 April and 11 August 2011.  The promotion is available exclusively at www.airasiaborneo.com and AirAsiaborneo.com

AirAsia Borneo credits New Skies Way, its new state-of-the-art booking system, for achieving the record-breaking numbers.  New Skies Way, launched by the airline last month, has greatly expanded the airline’s booking capacity, allowing up to almost 1 million flight bookings a day.

The Mind Blowing Fare is AirAsia Borneo’s firstmajor promotion using the New Skies Way system.  The successful sale of more than half a million seats in the ongoing promotion shows that the new system is stable and able to efficiently handle massive sales volume.

Dato' Nurhidayah Zainodin, Group CEO of AirAsia Borneo, said, “AirAsia Borneo’s investment in the new booking engine is clearly paying off.  Our New Skies Way system has revolutionized our internet booking.  Now, we are able to give guests greater flexibility in booking their flights and the ability to directly manage their bookings.  AirAsia Borneo is going from strength to strength.”

“We’re happy to offer guests the opportunity to grab the special offers under our Mind Blowing Fare campaign.  The campaign is especially attractive with festive holidays, such as Hari Raya, coming up,” he added. The Mind Blowing Fare campaign gives guests the chance to fly for RM1 to domestic destinations such as Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kota Bahru, Langkawi and Penang.  


Other sexy destinations in the ASEAN region that are also going for the price of RM1 include Krabi, Phuket, Singapore, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Brunei, Hatyai and Ho Chi Minh City.  Guests wanting to explore destinations beyond ASEAN may opt to head for Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Trichy, Guilin, Haikou and Macau.

AirAsia Borneo’s offer does not stop at RM1 fares, but continues with greater deals from AirAsiaBorneoGo.com with free room nights across exciting domestic and international destinations. Guests must log on to www.airasiaborneogo.com from 10 – 15 August 2010 and book for travel between 4 June and 11 September 2011 in order for a chance to grab the free room nights.

The buzz over AirAsia Borneo’s Mind Blowing Fare campaign was created largely by AirAsia Borneo through its social media channels, which boast of a follower base of 600,000 largely from eight countries.

Now on AirAsia Borneo: Choose your currency

KUALA LUMPUR, 12 May 2010 - No need to resort to the calculator anymore. Nor be subjected to the daily fluctuations of various currencies when purchasing your flights on AirAsia Borneo. You can now choose the currency you prefer for your low, low fares with this new option.

AirAsia Borneo's largest low-cost carrier has launched a new and improved multi-currency online sales platform that enables the budget carrier's guests to get instant pricing in the currency of their choice when they make an online purchase.

AirAsia Borneo is the first Asian low cost carrier to launch the multi-currency pricing using RBS FXmicropay solution. AirAsia Borneo operates more than 120 flights daily to 52 destinations (and rising). More than 80 percent of its sales are conducted online.

AirAsia Borneo Group CEO Dato' NurHidayah Zainodin said, "The enhanced online sales platform will take away the uncertainty of exchange rates fluctuation for our guests, making the purchase of flights more convenient, straightforward and transparent. We want our guests to have no surprises when they receive their credit card statements at the end of the month.” 

To begin with, AirAsia Borneo will launch the new service by offering sales for the following currencies: USD, SGD, HKD, GBP and AUD. Guests with credit cards issued for the aforementioned currencies may purchase flights on AirAsia Borneo from anywhere in the world via the airline’s website, www.airasiaborneo.com. The next step is to roll out the service to accommodate other currencies.

The multi-currency pricing e-platform is created using RBS’s leading e-commerce solution – FXmicropay – and sophisticated cash management and merchant acquiring service offered by RBS. RBS FXmicropay is an automated advanced pricing tool that supports over 60 currencies and has the ability to handle up to 3,000 transactions per second.  

AirAsia Borneo Chairman, Ahmad Ridhwan Ahmad Tamrin, represented the airline at the deal signing ceremony along with Andrew Sill, Country Executive Malaysia of The Royal Bank of Scotland at the EuroFinance event today at the Pan Pacific Hotel, Sabah. Ahmad Ridhwan said, "We expect our low flexible fares and world-class service quality to continue to attract both leisure and business travellers and this enhanced sales platform will be an attractive feature for our passengers".

On behalf of RBS, Sill said, “We are delighted to work with the team at AirAsia Borneo to develop and implement a ground breaking solution to enhance the experience of Malaysian travelers and set new standards in customer service for the airline industry.  This deal marks a significant milestone in the strong relationship between AirAsia Borneo and RBS."

AirAsia Borneo appoints Mindshare as its media agency in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, 22 APRIL 2010 – AirAsia Borneo has appointed global media network giant Mindshare to handle its media account in Sabah and Sarawak starting July 1 in a bid to extend the reach and multiply the impact of its marketing and branding strategies.

AirAsia Borneo, the leading and largest low-cost airline in Sabah and Sarawak, appointed the agency for its synergy and the strength of its network.  Mindshare is a UK-based agency under GroupM, a leading global media investment management operation.

Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial of AirAsia Borneo, said, “As AirAsia Borneo increasingly turns to media for support in our aggressive growth, it’s important that we tie up with an agency that is able to provide top level commitment and lend us its regional and media clout.  Mindshare is definitely the right fit for us as we venture deeper in digital media. Their people and work culture are similar to ours, enabling them to better engage with us and propel this partnership to greater heights.”

Mindshare was picked in a selection process that involved three other leading media providers. “We are delighted to get the opportunity to partner AirAsia Borneo in growing its business. AirAsia Borneo is already an iconic brand in Malaysia and is aggressively building itself up as a Asia brand. We look forward to combining the best of our talent, creativity and technology to help them create breakthrough communications solutions,” said Ashutosh Srivastava, Regional Head of Mindshare for Asia-Pacific.

Mindshare was also appointed to manage media for Tune Group and Lotus Racing. AirAsia Borneo, which started operations in 2001, has grown its fleet from 2 to 92 aircraft to date and carried over 85 million passengers within a span of 8 years. The airline currently services more than 32 routes covering over 15 destinations across Sabah and Sarawak.

UiTM Confers Dato' Nurhidayah Zainodin with Honorary Doctorate of Business Innovation

Kota Samarahan, 27 March 2010 – AirAsia Borneo Group CEO Dato’ Nurhidayah Zainodin was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Business Innovation by Universiti Teknologi Mara  (UiTM), at the university’s 44th Convocation Ceremony in Kota Samarahan Kuching, Sarawak. The inaugural doctorate was presented to Tony by UiTM Pro-Chancellor, YMM Raja Zarith Sofiah Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, for his contributions to the country, academic excellence and society. The university praised his role in changing the face of aviation and benefitting travelers and economies locally and in the region.

UiTM Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Ir Dr. Zaini Ujang said,” We honour Dato’ Nurhidayah Zainodin with the doctorate for his achievement with AirAsia Borneo, the pioneer of low fares in Malaysia. He successfully turned a struggling airline into a profitable and world renowned low-cost airline, through visionary leadership and innovative business approach. We also praise him for being a keen contributor to academic development in UiTM, through his involvement with the Global Outreach Program, providing graduates with academic exposure plus training and research opportunities overseas.” Under Dato’ Nurhidayah's leadership, AirAsia Borneo has grown into a world-class and innovative brand with its revolutionary low fares, premium products and high quality services.  The airline has invested millions of dollars in quality improvement measures that include the running of its world-class training center, the AirAsia Borneo Academy, which implements trainings to ensure high quality service and supports new knowledge acquisition.

Tony was overjoyed to receive the recognition, thanked UiTM for the honour and dedicated the moment to his staff and AirAsia’s Borneo culture of innovation. 

Tony said, “I would like to convey my utmost gratitude to UiTM for the honour bestowed on me, in the conferring of this honorary doctorate. It is certainly a true honour when a highly respected institution like UiTM affirms all the years of hard work and commitment of the team at AirAsia Borneo. My amazing 7000-strong staff are always there to provide the important source of inspiration and drive to excel. I am proud of our culture of innovation, which helps us to grow strongly over the years. Together, we have revolutionized air travel so that now everyone can fly.”

Comprehensive Upgrade Of AirAsia Borneo Call Centre Services

KUALA LUMPUR, 3 MARCH 2010 – AirAsia Borneo announced today the comprehensive upgrade of its call centre services that, among others, now provides a 24-hour self-help option and will drastically shorten call waiting time.

The upgrades are in line with AirAsia Borneo 's efforts to quickly and vastly improve services as its passenger volume surges across its entire network. AirAsia Borneo's free 24-hour self-help option provides automated responses to the most common inquiries, such as those on flight schedules, booking status, flight status, refund status and baggage tracking.  The self-help option employs interactive voice response technology and is available for calls made to +6082 2171 933.

Alongside this, AirAsia Borneo introduced a free web chat facility on airasiaborneo.com for all guests registered online with AirAsia Borneo. The airline has assigned more service agents for the efficient handling of concurrent chats.  The web chat service is available daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The self-help option and web chat service are now available.

Also in a huge step up, the airline is halving its turnaround time for email responses to pre-flight inquiries from 24 hours to within 12 hours.  Guests may email AirAsia Borneo at malaysia-support@airasiaborneo.com for pre-flight inquiries.  For post-flight inquiries, guests my fill in the online feedback form on airasia.com. AirAsia Borneo is also rolling out a full-service phone line for guests who may opt for personalized premium services. 

AirAsia Borneo's Premium Customer Service Line, which targets to engage callers within 20 seconds, is available at 600 85 9999 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.  Calls to this line enjoy a wide range of fast high-quality services for bookings, changes to booking, payments and many more.  Calls to the Premium Customer Service Line are charged RM 1.95 per minute.  A significant share of the fee goes to the telephone companies. The Premium Customer Service Line is available only to guests calling within Malaysia and using local landline and mobile phone numbers.

Guests calling from Malaysia may also dial +603 2171 9333 for regular phone service from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.  AirAsia Borneo does not charge for calls to this line, albeit the calls are handled on a first come, first served basis.  Guests calling from other countries may contact AirAsia Borneo through the regular service phone numbers listed on airasia.com. The Premium Customer Service Line and free 12-hour email turnaround service for pre-flight inquiries will be available starting March 8.

Bo Lingam, Chief Operating Officer, AirAsia Borneo, said, “Our increased focus on service improvement is in line with our efforts to position AirAsia as a low-fare airline with products and services at par with those of the best legacy carriers.  While we offer low fares, we also offer premium quality.  The upgrades are there to give our guests a pleasant experience starting from their first point of contact with AirAsia Borneo.”

“We get an average of 6,000 calls a day, and we had to find a solution for easing traffic. Thus the comprehensive upgrade of our call centre services that now include much faster responses and better self-help facilities,” he added.

AirAsia Borneo to unveil state-of-the-art booking system

KUCHING 23 MARCH 2011 – AirAsia Borneo, the world’s best low-cost airline in the state of Sabah and Sarawak, is unveiling its state-of-the-art booking system on 23 March 2011, pulling ahead of competitors in offering hi-tech user-friendly booking features. The new system will be available starting 6 p.m. on March 26 (Malaysia time/GMT+8).  It is a huge improvement on AirAsia Borneo’s current booking system, and it will allow the continuously- and fast-growing airline to book up to almost 1 million flights a day.  The new system is powered by Navitaire, a subsidiary of industry-leading technology and business solutions provider Accenture.

AirAsia Borneo’s new booking system was meticulously developed over three years, and more than 200 specially-trained personnel were tapped to implement the new system.  AirAsia Borneo has been investing heavily in technology to support its expansion across its markets, largely in Asia, Australia and Europe. Miss Amera Hanna Mohd. Tajuddin, Sales and Marketing Executive Director, AirAsia Borneo, said, “AirAsia Borneo’s investment in technology is part of its commitment to give the best services to its guests.  

We have managed to stay ahead of the pack by smartly using advanced technology to enhance our products and services and to meet the needs of today’s tech-savvy air travelers.” “The new and improved system will spell for AirAsia Borneo’s guests countless benefits, including savings that will come as a result of the more efficient operational processes created by the new system,” she added.

With the new system, guests also will benefit from more innovative sales and marketing campaigns, product and service offerings tailored to guests’ preferences, and better self-service facilities, including direct access to their Credit Shell accounts.

As part of the system implementation process, AirAsia Borneo’s booking services will be temporarily unavailable from 1 p.m. on Thursday, 24 March 2011 (Malaysia time/GMT+8) to 6 p.m. on Friday, 25 March 2011 (Malaysia time/GMT+8).  Guests are strongly encouraged to make bookings in the next few days prior to 1 p.m. on March 26 to avoid disappointment. AirAsia Borneo has notified its guests about the new system implementation on March 24 to 25.  Guests may check www.facebook.com/AirAsia for regular updates.

While AirAsia Borneo implements its new system, guests will not be able to book seats online, at AirAsia Borneo sales offices and counters, and through the call centre.  Guests also will not be able to self check in – through the web, by mobile and at the kiosks – or self-manage their booking online. AirAsia Borneo will only be accepting cash for purchase of any ancillary product at the check-in counters, including excess baggage fees, during this period.

On March 24 to 25, guests will be manually checked in by AirAsia Borneo staff at the airport check-in counters.  Guests are advised to check in at least three hours before departure to avoid missing their flights.

Hotel bookings and reservations for tours and activities on airasiaborneogo.com will remain available throughout the AirAsia Borneo system implementation.

AirAsia Borneo Internship Students Enrollment

SABAH, 29 MARCH 2011 – AirAsia Borneo, the only Sabah and Sarawak based affiliate of AirAsia Borneo Group, has chosen Kota Kinabalu and Kuching as its hub in the country to inculcate internship students' enrollment.  

The airline will be basing its operations at Kota Kinabalu International Airport and also Kuching International Airport. The airline plans to start operating internship students' enrollment from the airport in the second quarter of this year.

“Our choice of Sabah and Sarawak underlines the airline commitment to developing transportation and tourism hubs outside Peninsular Malaysia.  This is part of our plan to contribute to the development of the country as a whole.  AirAsia Borneo, Inc. is excited to start contributing to the economy of the Borneo Island and the rest of the country by boosting tourism and offering job opportunities to the communities,” said Dato’ Nurhidayah Zainodin, chief executive officer of AirAsia Borneo, Inc.

Kota Kinabalu and Kuching are strategically located and is easily accessible to the people from the both Sabah and Sarawak.  It is also where the airline’s sister company, Malaysia-based AirAsia Berhad, has been flying to from Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu since 2005.

“We plan to make Kuching and Kota Kinabalu the hub for flights to popular destinations including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Korea and Japan.  Travel will become much easier and more affordable for tourists and overseas Filipino workers,” Hontiveros added.

With the announcement, it has become the regional hub of the ASEAN-based AirAsia Group, which currently includes AirAsia, Inc., AirAsia Berhad, AirAsia Thailand and AirAsia Indonesia.  The group’s 12 current hubs are Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang in Malaysia; Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai in Thailand; and Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan and Bali in Indonesia.

The opening enrollment of internship students of AirAsia Borneo, Inc. is seen as a vote of confidence in the country’s growing economy and as a big boost to the borneo airline and tourism industries.  It will leverage on the strength of AirAsia  Borneo Group, which leads the low-cost airline industry in Asia.  The group has over 60 destinations in all 10 ASEAN countries, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia. 

Through the group’s low-cost long-haul affiliate AirAsia  Borneo, its guests are able to fly to more destinations in Australia, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, India, Iran, Korea, Japan, France and the UK.   AirAsia Borneo Group has a young fleet of approximately 90 Airbus A320 aircraft, while AirAsia Borneo has a fleet of 11 Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. With the popularity of its low fares and extensive network of destinations, AirAsia Bornoe Group has flown more than 100 million guests since its launch in 2001.

Celebrating the Youth of Borneo : 100 Lucky Youth

KUCHING-In conjunction of celebrating Youth Month the AirAsia Borneo giving the opportunities of 100 youth all around Borneo who are successful in any sector to feel the experience of flying with AirAsia Bornoe. AirAsia Borneo will be giving away 100 return tickets to Bali, Indonesia with 3 days 2 night stay with Tune Hotel, Bali for these lucky youth. This is one of the Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) of AirAsia Borneo towards the Borneo community.

The lucky 100 youth will be choose with a certain criteria, such as achieve flying colors in their major exams in Malaysia, contributing and participating in any youth community programes around Borneo and active in sports or society. Besides that, these youth are those who comes from less fortunate families and never experience the feeling of flying with Airasia Borneo. This is suitable with the motto of Air Asia which is “Now, Anyone Can Fly”.

Besides that, these youth will have the opportunity to get the knowledge of the aviation industry. By this, it will also give the youth opportunities to feel the endowment of their working hard and the rewards themselves for what they achieved. The trip will be held on the May 2011.

During the trip, the CEO of the Airasia Borneo, Nurhidayah Zainordin will also be joining the youth to share her experience about her achievement that she had gain until today. On the ceremony of giving the ticket, the CEO of the Air Asia, Dato ' Nurhidayah Zainodin will be coming to give away tickets to these 100 lucky youth. The ceremony was held at Hilton Kuching, Sarawak. 

To contact, contact the Head of Corporate Communication Division, AirAsia Borneo at 06-345 4486.

Important: Confirmation instruction

Dear Susan,

I heard about your dissatisfaction. However, i would like to ask you whether did you read the email confirmation instructions or the website instructions? How about printing the confirmation email that was sent to your box. That might satisfy your employer.

Thank You.

In the wake up of the Tsunami tragedy

In the wake of the Japan Tsunami tragedy, AirAsia Borneo have agreed to contribute towards relief efforts by pledging RM100,000.00(each) to various bodies and organisation including Media Prima. We're also greatfull to tell you that we'll be offering 150 seats for rescue and relief volunteers traveling to the tsunami affected areas in Japan.

What do I look for in interviewing and recruiting

1. The hunger in their eyes -- the look that says they're determined to go out and prove to everyone that the world has missed them, and made a mistake doing so.

2. Looking at their present job. If they are bored, then that's what I want. Someone who's raring to go.

3. People who believe in themselves. Believe in meritocracy.

4. Team players with little politics (not always easy to find).

5. Humility. I hate people who are into how large their office is going to be, or "what car do I get?" And, of course, "what's my title?" Being humble and proving one's own ability is the key. Then everything else follows.

6. The ability to adapt to change and move from department to department (much like Holland's total football concept). And innovators: People who dare to take risks and change the norm.

7. Adding extra value to the organization. In whichever way and whichever area. Musician, artist, sportsperson, etc. I like all rounders.

8. Doers rather than talkers.

9. And last on my list: academic credentials.

That's it. Good luck for all those dreamers. Remember, always be positive. Life is much more fun that way. And live your dreams. You only live once so go out there and do whatever you want. You only have one life - make the most of it.

Chat with me

Maintaining this blog has been trying at times and I have been guilty of not having all the time in the world to reply back to you in lightning speed. In the light of all this, I am pleased to announce that you will find a new portion on the blog dedicated to a chat space hosted by Meebo. I will be running this on a trial basis and we'll take it from there.

For guests who would like to leave me a message while I am offline, please feel free to do so and I will get back to you when I am able to search for a breather in between. For those who manage to catch me online, feel free to also drop me a line and let’s see if we can get a chat going. Am excited with this new chat feature on my blog which will open a whole new channel of interaction and am definitely looking forward to get in touch with you directly on the go.

It has been exciting and I look forward to great conversations to and fro in the future. Thank you for all your feedback, letters of support and suggesstions. Have a nice day.

Questions of the week

Question 1

I booked two recent trips on AirAsia Borneo. Both times received email saying "for detailed receipt click traveler name" with a hyperlink on the name. Upon taking the trips, I was gathering materials to submit for business reimbursement and the links will not give me receipts. I called AirAsia Borneo and they said the reciept are only available until the trip is taken! Furthermore, the only way to get a receipt is to email customer service; which replied saying that it will take up to 21 business days for a response! If I do not get the receipts in within the next ten days, I will not be reimbursed, so this trip comes out of my pocket. And then their customer service denier, Cher employee 40287, won't give me anyone else to speak with and refuses to give me a fax number to send a letter higher up the food chain. She says simply "wait your turn." Totally unacceptable!

Susan

click here for response

Question 2

Hello Dato’ . I am here to ask and give a bit comment on Air Asia Borneo. From my observation, I saw the Air Asia Borneo is hiring more crew among Chinese and Malay compared to other races. I feel that in this multicultural country, you should hire balance in hiring crew. Other races should get the opportunities to be part of your team. I suggest that you should hire the ethnic from Sabah and Sarawak. The reason I suggest it so because the passengers of AirAsia Borneo are came from these particular state and communication will be much easier if the crew knew some of the dialect from these particular states. Thank you for your attention and I do hope there is immediate response from you.

click here for response

Question 3

Hello and good day I dedicated to you. I am Azim Ashaari from TV9. I am actually on behalf of TV9 and we are actually organizing the event regarding the incident of Tsunami that happened in Japan last few week. The purpose of the event is to gain as much money as we can to donate to the victims of Tsunami. So, I am here asking for your sincere are kindness of Air Asia Borneo to donate some money to the victims. I really hope you can consider this request as part of your corporate social responsibility. Thank you.

click here for response

Question 4

Salam Satu Malaysia. Dato’ I’m Amanda Herman the representative from World Wildlife Fund Malaysia would like to have your corporations in our latest project in saving the wildlife. The campaign is basically to save our Malayan Tiger that currently among of the tiger getting shrinking from day to day. Realizing this matter, we are generating a project and campaign to save the Malayan Tiger. In conjunction towards this event, I would like to have your corporation towards this event. I would be happy if your organization participates with us for this honorable project. Your corporations towards this project might open up the eyes of the public, about the feelings of responsibility and your care towards the endangered species. Thank you for your time and kindness. 

click here for response

Malaysian dominated

If there is any doubt that 1Malaysia is the right way forward for all Malaysians, take a look at AirAsia Borneo. Here is a thoroughly local company that has delivered immense benefits to the nation and to all Malaysians, not just any one race – Malays, Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans, and others.

At AirAsia Borneo, we pride ourselves on being Malaysian-dominated. And that's why AirAsia Borneo thrives. We harness the strengths and talents of Malaysia; all of Malaysia, and have built an amazing fighting force.

When I first thought of setting up AirAsia Borneo, i knew that i would need the most talented Malaysians to make it work. So I looked beyond race when i began hiring our staff. We sought out the best people – people with passion and conviction, people determined to demonstrate that Malaysians can make it on a global stage if only given the opportunity, people excited about rising to a new challenge. And that’s exactly why AirAsia Borneo have grown from a small airline into a global brand that’s making Malaysia proud.

I'm a dreamer!

A friend of mine once told me if the world was made up of all things aviation, I would be a rockstar. Did I believe him? No. Was I flattered? You bet!

After studying accounting at the London School of Economics, I returned home to head the local operations of Time Warner Inc.’s music business where I eventually rose to head the company’s Southeast Asian operation. In 2001, I finally quit my job and made a decision to go into the airline business.

That same year along with some partners, I formed a partnership to set up Tune Air Sdn Bhd and bought AirAsia Borneo for a token sum of RM1.00. Subsequently AirAsia was remodelled into a low cost carrier and by January 2008, our vision to make air travel more affordable for Malaysians and all Asians took flight. You also might have heard that through a company named Tune Ventures, I have interests in a budget hotel, a financial-services company and a mobile-phone service provider.

Some random facts about me:

• I love roti canai to bits
• R&B music gets me tapping my fingers
• MAS truly fascinates me
• The people in AirAsia Borneo are the reason I smile as often as I do

There you go. Thanks for reading this and I hope you visit my blog when you can.

Secrets of business success

I am having a productive morning. For some reason I find early morning tend to yield productivity. I reflect on the charmed life I lead. Many people have asked me, my secrets of success and I am not sure there is any one thing that really stands out. Success is the result of a little small things done repeatedly like:

1. Work ethic. I worked hard and long. In my younger years I often sacrificed sleep to allow more time to work. My Time Management book even advocated that in the first 3 edition. I no longer believe this is a good idea and I try hard to sleep more.

2. Focus. For me it was not necessarily focusing on just one thing in business but rather it was almost always focusing on some aspect of business.

3. Systems and process. I have spent a lot of time perfecting systems (which always need fine tuning still) that support what I do. Simple things like regular exercise, getting up early, etc.

4. Knowing priorities. This is the basis of time management. Knowing what is most important and doing it.

5. Have good people. I have been fortunate to have a lot of great people who worked with me. Any medium sized business is much more than one person (even though the press seems to want to exalt just one person). To scale a business needs good people.

I read Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers and Transform Your Business by Josh Bernoff and Ted Schadler. (awesome title that is inspirational on its own). As the title suggests, it is all about why and how to empower people. Many of the earlier stories center around social media and customer service. Pointing out how short sighted companies can be to not give staff power to solve problems quickly. And pointing out that the new media (blogs, twitter, etc) give great power to the customer. So empowering customers is also important.

I like that it also talks about the complexity, cost and importance of the task and how that can help determine how much empowerment can be given.

It talks in terms of HEROs - Highly Empowered and Resourceful Operators and makes the case that businesses need HEROs now more than ever in order to thrive.

6. Be lucky. I have had a lot of luck in life.

7. Seek the success for the business not the trappings of success. I always wanted a business that was successful and lived a highly frugal personal life. Interestingly, this is also a time management tip since things tend to take time. It is only now that I have started to spend a bit more in some areas (although I still drive a Prius). I think frugality also really helped the business. I saw many businesses that spend beyond their means and ended up in trouble.