That’s not the case with Kugan Thangiisuran.
The 31-year-old is now living his childhood dream of flying around the world as a pilot after more than six years of serving as a despatch boy with AirAsia.
Kugan, who hails from Prai, said he had aspired to become a pilot since he was nine. However, when he finished school, he could not study to become a pilot because the courses were too expensive for his family.
“I ended up studying in the hospitality management field and worked in various hotels in Penang for several years,” he said. “Then, one day, a friend who worked with AirAsia told me to join the company. He said it gave opportunities to its staff to move between departments.”
Kugan applied for a job with the airline and was offered the position of despatch boy. He wasn’t put off by the offer. He saw it as a stepping stone to his dream.
He joined AirAsia in 2006, and in the same year sat for an examination for aspiring pilots. He did pass the exam, but his hope was dashed by a policy dictating that only confirmed employees who had served the company for at least two years could move from one department to another.
For the next seven years, he kept trying, sitting for the exam three more times. His perseverance caught the attention of AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes, who personally pushed him to keep trying.
Kugan looks up to Fernandes as his biggest motivator. His family also stood behind him as he relentlessly pursued the dream.
In 2013, Kugan passed his exam again. In August last year, after completing his training, he took to the controls of a regular passenger plane for the first time, co-piloting a flight to Miri.
He described the experience as surreal, one that told him that he was at last living his dream. “I was nervous, but not afraid, as I was confident of what I had learned.”
A video of Fernandes praising Kugan’s persistence during a pilots’ graduation ceremony recently went viral on social media. The airline mogul is heard telling the graduates to “be like Kugan.”
Kugan has this to say to youths who aspire to make it big one day:
“If you want to achieve something, keep trying for it. If you fail once, that doesn’t mean the end. One day, you will succeed.”
He has shown that the sky is indeed the limit for those who are persistent.