AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes says he selected Singapore Airlines because his flights were full

He shared photos of himself boarding a Singapore Airlines flight and the view from his seat, which seemed to be in economy class.

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A round-trip economy flight between Kuala Lumpur, where AirAsia is headquartered, and Singapore costs about $70 on a budget carrier. The same flight on Singapore Airlines normally costs between $60 and $130 more.

Fernandes’ post was praised by some users. One wrote: “It’s incredibly refreshing to see the CEO of a personal airline respect his customers’ reservations and never discover a ‘corporate’ approach to flip some passengers.”

However, not everyone buys Fernandes’ explanation.

“Good choice, you won’t miss your flight now!” – one in every of the users joked. Another wrote: “Don’t lie Tony. Even you don’t want to fly with AirAsia.

“Lol you had to take @singaporeair because of the quality of seats provided by your own company @flyairasia,” one other user wrote.

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The deleted post sparked debate over its appropriateness, with some users finding it unprofessional and uncomfortable.

Fernandes took over the helm of AirAsia in 2001 after taking on the then-ailing airline from the Malaysian government. Under his leadership, it became Asia’s fourth-largest airline until the pandemic struck and bankrupted its operations in Japan and Thailand.

For 14 years, the airline has been recognized because the world’s best low-cost carrier by the airline review website SkyTrax.

AirAsia didn’t immediately reply to Business Insider’s request for comment.