KUALA LUMPUR – Tony Fernandes, the CEO of Capital A, the parent company of AirAsia, had to take a Thai Airways flight to Beijing after discovering that all AirAsia flights were fully booked, on October 27. He shared a photo of himself on Instagram during his economy class journey with Thai Airways, stating, “Continuing my travels. I most fly more than a crew. Onto Beijing on @thaiairways. AirAsia again sold out. Loke my track suit @danawhite.”
The post sparked a wave of reactions from netizens in Malaysia and those interested in Thailand’s aviation scene. Many wondered if Fernandes was critiquing the competition or simply sharing a travel anecdote. Some speculated it might be a marketing strategy, noting that even a CEO like Fernandes couldn’t secure a seat on his airline, suggesting AirAsia flights are consistently full.
This isn’t the first time Fernandes has faced such a situation; previously, on December 5, 2023, he had to fly with Singapore Airlines after failing to find available seats on AirAsia for three consecutive flights.
For the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route, AirAsia X operates one daily flight, D7 342, departing at 6:55 PM and arriving at Beijing Daxing International Airport at 1:15 AM, with a flight duration of 6 hours and 20 minutes. The Airbus A330-300 used for this route has a total of 365 economy seats and 12 business class seats. However, as of now, all tickets for this flight are sold out until October 30, 2024, leaving only options with other airlines, which may require layovers or have higher fares.
