AirAsia

AirAsia started in 1993 as part of DRB-HICOM, a Malaysian government conglomerate, meaning a company that owns many businesses. It drew little notice for its first eight years. In 2001 former music executive Tony Fernandes and his partners bought the debt-loaded, two-plane airline for one ringgit. The ringgit is Malaysia's currency, so the price was purely symbolic. They took on the airline's debts as well.

Relaunched with the slogan 'Now Everyone Can Fly,' AirAsia became Asia's answer to Ryanair and Southwest. It cut fares in a region where flying had been a treat for the rich. The airline turned a profit within a year. It moved to an all-Airbus A320 fleet and opened a low-cost terminal base in Kuala Lumpur. Sister airlines followed in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Japan, and Cambodia.

AirAsia X launched in 2007, taking the cheap-fare formula onto long routes with Airbus A330s. The group survived the 2014 loss of Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 and a near-death pandemic. It rebuilt under parent Capital A, which also runs logistics, aviation services, and a travel app. Skytrax has named it the world's best low-cost airline more than a dozen years running. A 2025 reshuffle pulled its airlines into one group.

The AirAsia group flies about 220 aircraft, all built by Airbus, across its Malaysian, Thai, Indonesian, Philippine, and Cambodian partners. Short routes run on A320ceos and A320neos, with more of the larger A321neo arriving. Long-haul sister AirAsia X flies A330-300s and has A330-900neos in service and on order.

Group orders total several hundred jets, including A321XLRs meant to open new medium-length routes. Capital A's services arm handles the upkeep. Sticking to one aircraft family keeps training, maintenance, and turnaround costs among the lowest in world aviation.