This was the message that the low-cost airline business tycoon conveyed in a series of tweets he sent out earlier this morning.
“Laughable that there is a rumour I’m retiring. My announcement is an exciting one that charts our future of AIRASIA,” Fernandes had tweeted, referring to an urgent notice sent out by AirAsia yesterday on a press conference scheduled for noon today.
He followed up that tweet with another one, simply saying: “So not going anywhere. Exciting times ahead.”
Fernandes,53, tied the knot in October, in a much-publicised wedding to a 34-year-old South Korean, whose name was only given as Chloe.
Since then, he launched his memoir, “Flying High”, in Singapore on Oct 30 and had reportedly said that he was also “trying to slow down a little”.
“Over the past year I have been working out a proper balance because life is also about taking a break,” he was quoted as saying by Channel NewsAsia (CNA) in an interview following the book launch.
“When I travel, it’ll just be meetings and meetings before I fly off. Now, I’d spend a bit more time enjoying the culture and the place. Just slow down a little bit and moderating my pace.
“In some ways, I think I’m more effective now because I’m stable,” he had said, attributing the stability to his relationship with his wife.
Meanwhile, speaking on the business aspect of his award-winning airline, Fernandes also said he believes AirAsia has the potential to perform much better in the stock market.
In another tweet this morning, Fernandes said: “I told analysts we we were worth RM3 when we were 0.70 sen. Now I say we are worth RM6. There is no airline that has as much growth as AirAsia, with a huge digital strategy that has assets worth more than our present market capitalisation.”
The RM6 price Fernandes forecasts is almost double yesterday’s closing price of RM3.19 for AirAsia.