KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — AirAsia is one of the few airlines in the world that has chosen to retain all its staff although it will be having reduced salaries amid a difficult time for the aviation industry globally due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said.

Fernandes, who is CEO of AirAsia Group, also urged the low-cost carrier’s customers to accept credit for replacement flights instead of pressing for refunds.

He candidly shared that AirAsia is possibly facing its biggest challenge now, due to costs that it still has to pay without income coming in.

"We have no revenue coming in, 96 per cent of our fleet is grounded and we still have significant ongoing financial commitments such as fuel suppliers and leasing agents,” he wrote in an open letter to AirAsia customers last night, adding that the airline is "doing everything possible to reduce costs” to enable it to come back fighting as soon as possible.

"We are one of the few airlines world over who has kept all of our staff on. AirAsia is a family and there are tens of thousands of Allstars who depend on the business for their livelihoods and the wellbeing of their own families. 

"Kamarudin and I will not be taking a salary during this period and Allstars from across the business have accepted temporary pay reductions of anywhere between 15-75 per cent, depending on seniority, to share the impact this is having on our business. I thank them for their sacrifice and in keeping the big picture in mind as we navigate this together,” he said, referring to co-founder and Airasia Group executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.

Addressing customers, Fernandes said he was sorry that many customers’ travel plans had been affected, explaining that AirAsia like all airlines had no choice but to cancel a large number of flights due to government restrictions imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.

"I know many of you have expressed frustration with not receiving a refund for your flights but I encourage you to accept a credit as a good alternative,” he said, expressing appreciation when noting that more than 80 per cent of the airline’s customers had accepted the credit offer.

He said AirAsia believes the credit offer policy is the best solution now and that it is in line with many operators in the travel industry, besides saying this was in step with AirAsia’s focus to go through the difficult period to allow it to fly with the customers again as soon as possible.

"While we strongly encourage you to accept the credit which is instant and comes with a 365-day validity and allows you to change your flight date for an unlimited number of times, we do accept requests for refund on a case by case basis. However, due to the overwhelming number of requests that we have received, it may take a long process of between 12 to 16 weeks,” he said.

Fernandes also said AirAsia is currently handling 10 times the normal volume of queries from customers or about 500,000 guests on a daily basis now, adding that improvements are being made to the company’s virtual Allstar AVA or its chatbot system daily.

"We are working tirelessly, around the clock, to provide assistance to each and every one of you,” he said, adding that the company has pulled in 1,800 staff from other functions who are volunteering to help assist customers round the clock through the platforms of LiveChat, Facebook Messenger, Twitter and WeChat.

On March 26, the AirAsia Group announced that it was temporarily hibernating most of its fleet with temporary suspension of flights, and had also then said that the management and senior employees of the group have volunteered to take a pay cut ranging from 100 per cent at the very top to 15 per cent to enable the airline to ride out the prolonged period of extremely low travel demand and to minimise the impact on employees in junior positions.

Other airlines like Malindo Air were last month reported to have asked staff to take a pay cut and go on temporary unpaid leave, while Malaysia Airlines had reportedly also imposed a 10 per cent pay cut on its senior management and asked staff to take unpaid leave.