--- description: The public leadership of AirAsia's CEO--Fernandes took over the struggling airline company in 2001 and built it into a successful carrier--has assumed a more somber tenor in the wake of news Sunday that one of the company's planes, Flight QZ 8501, had disappeared title: See the Career of AirAsia’s CEO Tony Fernandes image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdaf355ddc1ad905f/6987775b2dce0177bd9dcae6/del6382487.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Aviation](/tag/aviation/) ## Aviation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See the Career of AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 28, 2014 8:28 PM CUT  Fernandes, center, speaks during a press conference in Surabaya, East Java, on Dec. 28, 2014, following the disappearance of AirAsia flight QZ8501. Fernandes, center, speaks during a press conference in Surabaya, East Java, on Dec. 28, 2014, following the disappearance of AirAsia flight QZ8501.Juni Kriswanto—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 28, 2014 8:28 PM CUT  Tony Fernandes, AirAsia's Chief Executive, looks on during an interview at his office in Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Aug, 9, 2005\. Purchased in December of 2001 by Fernandes, AirAsia pioneered low-cost travel in Asia. Vincent Thian—AP  Fernandes poses for a photo in a Boeing Simulator after the Air Asia annual general meeting held at Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 28, 2006. Goh Seng Chong—Bloomberg/Getty Images  In addition to AirAsia, Fernandes' other ventures include a budget hotel chain, auto racing, and soccer. Here, Fernandes, then Team Lotus Principal, is seen during qualifying for the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 11, 2011 in Montreal. Mark Thompson—Getty Images  In August of 2011, Fernandes became the majority owner of the Queens Park Rangers, an English Premier League soccer team. Here, Fernandes celebrates after his team won the Sky Bet Championship Playoff Final match at Wembley Stadium on May 24, 2014 in London. Ben Hoskins—Getty Images  Fernandes and Sir Richard Branson at an AirAsia Cocktail Party in Perth, Australia, May 11, 2013\. Fernandes' public persona has often been likened to that of Branson--and the two are in fact friends. Branson dressed as an AirAsia flight attendant after losing a bet with Fernandes on which of their 2010 Formula One racing car teams would finish ahead of the other. Matt Jelonek—WireImage/Getty Images  Fernandes, center, speaks during a press conference in Surabaya, East Java, on Dec. 28, 2014, following the disappearance of AirAsia flight QZ8501. Juni Kriswanto—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3648026/tony-fernandes-ceo-airasia-gallery/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3648026/tony-fernandes-ceo-airasia-gallery/"},"headline":"See the Career of AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes","datePublished":"2014-12-28T20:28:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:30.169Z","description":"The public leadership of AirAsia's CEO--Fernandes took over the struggling airline company in 2001 and built it into a successful carrier--has assumed a more somber tenor in the wake of news Sunday that one of the company's planes, Flight QZ 8501, had disappeared","url":"https://time.com/3648026/tony-fernandes-ceo-airasia-gallery/","keywords":["Aviation","photography","Richard Branson","AirAsia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdaf355ddc1ad905f/6987775b2dce0177bd9dcae6/del6382487.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdaf355ddc1ad905f/6987775b2dce0177bd9dcae6/del6382487.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"INDONESIA-SINGAPORE-ACCIDENT-AIRASIA","caption":"INDONESIA-SINGAPORE-ACCIDENT-AIRASIA","creditText":"Juni Kriswanto—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/aviation/","name":"Aviation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3648026/tony-fernandes-ceo-airasia-gallery/","name":"See the Career of AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes"}}]}] ```