605: He Bought an Airline for $0.30 (and made BILLIONS) | Tony Fernendes (Best of Foundr)

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8 • 662 Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tony Fernandes turned a failing airline into a billion-dollar business and built AirAsia into one of the most recognized brands in Asia. In this interview, Tony explains how he bought AirAsia for just 30 cents and $10M of debt, scaled it into the fourth largest airline in Asia, and created a culture that transformed 24,000 employees into a unified team. From building a brand with global impact to navigating failures, scaling fast against competitors, and leading digital transformation, Tony’s story is packed with actionable lessons for founders ready to think bigger and move faster. What you’ll learn from this interview: • How Tony bought AirAsia for just 30 cents and $10M in debt • Why scaling fast is critical when competitors can copy your model • How to build a culture that drives loyalty, performance, and innovation • The role of branding, PR, and personal brand in scaling globally • Why self-funding and profitability are underrated growth strategies • How to know when to reinvent, when to focus, and when to quit • Lessons from failures, resilience, and daring to dream bigger By the end of this interview, you’ll walk away with proven insights from one of Asia’s most iconic entrepreneurs—so you can scale your business, build an unstoppable culture, and create a brand that lasts. SAVE 50% ON OMNISEND FOR 3 MONTHS Get 50% off your first 3 months of email and SMS marketing with Omnisend with the code FOUNDR50. Just head to https://your.omnisend.com/foundr to get started. HOW WE CAN HELP YOU SCALE YOUR BUSINESS FASTER Learn directly from 7, 8 & 9-figure founders inside Foundr+ Start your $1 trial → https://www.foundr.com/startdollartrial PREFER A CUSTOM ROADMAP AND 1-ON-1 COACHING? → Starting from scratch? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-start-application → Already have a store? Apply here → https://foundr.com/pages/coaching-growth-application CONNECT WITH NATHAN CHAN Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhchan/ CONNECT WITH TONY FERNANDES Website → https://www.airasia.com/ Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/tonyfernandes/ LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyfernandesairasia FOLLOW FOUNDR FOR MORE BUSINESS GROWTH STRATEGIES YouTube → https://bit.ly/2uyvzdt Website → https://www.foundr.com Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/foundr/ Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/foundr Twitter → https://www.twitter.com/foundr LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/company/foundr/ Podcast → https://www.foundr.com/podcast

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey Founder Fam, I want to talk to you about something super exciting. We're officially partnered with Omniscend, the email marketing and SMS platform built specifically for e-commerce founders. We've been recommending OmnisCent to Founder students for a while now because it just works. Whether you're launching your first store or you're scaling the seven figures, it really helps you automate your marketing and get real results.
0:24.0	Did you know on average, Omnysend customers make $68 for every $1 they spend, which is an insanely good return on investment.
0:32.6	And because you're part of the founder community, you get 50% off your first three months with the code Founder 50.
0:39.3	Just head to Omnicend.com forward slash founder without the E to get started. All right, now
0:46.2	let's jump back into the show.
0:48.6	Hey guys, welcome back to the show. Imagine buying an airline for just 30 cents and $10 million in debt, three days
0:56.8	before 9-11 and then somehow turning it into one of the largest carriers in Asia. Today I'm
1:02.5	joined by Tony Fernandez, the visionary founder who transformed Air Asia into a powerhouse brand,
1:08.3	serving nearly 100 million passionages a year.
1:11.3	From a background in music and media to reinventing air travel across Southeast Asia,
1:16.9	Tony's story is one of bold bets, resilience and relentless focus on culture and growth.
1:22.7	So in this episode, you're going to learn how Tony spotted opportunities others overlooked,
1:27.3	the unconventional
1:28.4	growth strategies he used to scale fast without outside capital, and how he thinks about branding
1:33.8	and focus and leadership in a way very few entrepreneurs ever do.
1:40.0	Hear the stories. Learn the proven methods and accelerate your growth and future through
1:45.8	entrepreneurship. Welcome to the founder podcast with Nathan Chan.
1:54.0	The first question that I asked everyone that comes on is how did you get your job?
1:59.2	Wow. Well, I was in the music business for 12 years.
2:04.8	I was an accountant before that.
2:07.5	And I was in 2001.
2:13.6	It was the beginning of this digital age.
	...

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