After all, Malaysia's entrepreneurial darling does not believe in pulling his punches. And for this particular interview, the mention of the 'SIA Girl' was enough to set him off. "I think she's a robot," he says without hesitating.
"I think they all look the same - same makeup, same fake smile. The SIA Girl is an overrated product. At AirAsia, we give our girls individuality. Many former SIA girls have joined us and like us, because we don't just treat them like another number."
Though Fernandes' verbal assaults on Singapore Airlines might make his press officers wince, few would disagree that the success of SIA has played a role in fuelling Fernandes' passion.
This came to fore last year, when the launch of AirAsia's new Airbus A320 jet garnered a near 48 per cent hike in passengers over the year before.
Following this, Fernandes ordered another 150 carriers, becoming the French manufacturer's biggest airline client. Meanwhile, last quarter, the company reported its best financial quarter yet: a 61 per cent surge in revenue over the year before to RM 401 million (US$116 million). "In terms of passengers, we're going to exceed SIA this year," Fernandes asserts.
He has some way to go, given that in 2007, AirAsia counted just over nine million passengers last year to Singapore Airlines' more than 18 million passengers. He's not backing away from his aggressive target of 60 million passengers a year by 2013, however.
Ludicrous as it sounds, it's difficult for even the most suspicious of audiences to simply dismiss the wisecracking CEO's bold claims. After all, he says, "the most important part of the job is proving people wrong. We're always creating new milestones."
And if history is anything to go by, Fernandes' fortitude shines when the odds are most against him. They pretty much have been since he bought the bankrupt company in 2001, a month after 9/11.
Somehow, Fernandes convinced then Prime Minister Mahathir to sell him the failed airline company - consisting of two Boeing jets and US$11 million in debt - for a token sum of 26 cents. "And when all the airlines reduced their adspend, we tripled ours," Fernandes adds. Since then, the brand has weathered all varieties of market volatility that seem to plague Southeast Asia: "Bird flu, shaky oil prices, the tsunami, coups, lack of cash...We've had it all," Fernandes notes. "But there is always a way forward. We don't cry over spilt milk, so to speak."
In terms of marketing, this determination has lent itself to an enduring proposition: low fares. "It hasn't changed since the beginning," says Fernandes.
"Low fares are everything. For the first two years, that's all we talked about. You don't want to confuse the market. Airlines tend to aim for too much. When you think of AirAsia, you think low fares."
Such singularity has led to high-profile marketing stunts such as the '99% off' proposition and, in January, a campaign offering one million free air tickets.
However, admits Fernandes, thanks to increasing competition from regional low-cost carriers (LCC) such as Jetstar and Tiger Airways, the airline will have to start highlighting its other propositions: "Nice planes, nice crew, more destinations."
Still, he won't let the company divert its capital any time soon. Not when AirAsia is building another hub in Kuala Lumpur and keeping its fingers crossed for a licence to build one in Singapore, where half a million passengers originated from last year.
Meanwhile, when Fernandes isn't playing the guitar, he is developing a budget hotel chain under AirAsia's parent company, Tune Air. Called Tune Hotels, Fernandes says he intends to keep the companies separate.
He also likes to talk about governments. Singapore's, in particular. After venting for a good 10 minutes, the CEO suddenly exclaims, "You're going to get me banned from Singapore!"
And then, as if anticipating a resignation letter from his press officer, he smiles and insists it was all off-the-record.
