The airline said the seats would be available between Wednesday and Friday and cover services from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Jakarta, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as from Thailand itself.

One hundred thousand tickets on AirAsia will be issued and are valid between Jan. 6 and March 31, 2009, the discount airline said. Passengers have to pay any taxes and fees.

The tickets are valid between Jan. 6 and March 31, 2009, it said. Passengers have to pay any taxes and fees.

“Thailand is a great place in the world to visit. I am optimistic,” the airline’s chief executive officer Tony Fernandes told reporters in Bangkok late Tuesday.

Protesters lifted an eight-day siege of Bangkok’s international and domestic airports on December 3, after a court outlawed Thailand’s ruling party and barred the prime minister from politics.

The blockade left around 350,000 passengers stranded in the country and images of exhausted tourists sleeping on baggage check-in belts led to predictions that tourist numbers could fall by half next year.

New Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was voted in by parliament on Monday and has vowed to help restore the country’s battered economy and international image.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said AirAsia’s free seats campaign would help draw foreign visitors back to the country faster and boost the Thai economy next next year.

“Thailand is back to normal and the campaign will help us maintain our tourist projections, especially from the Asian region,” said TAT governor Pornsiri Manohan.

The reasons were many. At the top of the list was that his dream of total open skies between Singapore and KL had been realised. He compared the challenge of opening the route — which used to cost about S$400 (RM960) return on full-service carriers — to “Nelson Mandela fighting for freedom”.

“It was ridiculous that the most expensive route in Asia was KL-Singapore,” he said.

Now, the fares could be as low as S$60 return on budget carriers, which also include Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia. There are some 14 flights daily from Singapore to KL.

The plane that Fernandes greeted on the tarmac on Monday was 85 per cent full, with many Singaporeans on board. From this group, Fernandes met a couple who flew to Kuala Lumpur on their way to Langkawi. Which thrilled him no end.

“Singaporeans certainly don’t think about flying to KL to take a flight,” he said. Indeed, flying to KL allows Singaporeans to tap into a web of budget connections offered by AirAsia and its long haul arm, AirAsia X. Both launched new routes last week — the former to Trichy, Tamil Nadu; the latter to London.

Does Fernandes think Singaporeans will fly to KL to switch planes?

“I think it’s beginning to happen,” he said. “Singaporeans are very savvy. They are very loyal to their wallets. Malaysians, too,” he added with a laugh.

The company recently scrapped its fuel surcharges, which Fernandes admitted was a big risk, but according to him, sales tripled.

“Singaporeans are also adventurous. The young in Singapore want to travel. They want to see Borneo, Siem Reap … We provide that connectivity, so I don’t think it will be hard to convince them.”

Route-wise, short-haul carrier AirAsia has covered all the countries within its range. It will focus on flying to more destinations in China and India. There’s more potential for AirAsia X to go global.

“I’d love to see AirAsia X fly to Africa — KL to Nairobi. And, one day to the (United) States. Maybe my last route will be KL-Rio.”

That’s Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is more than 24 hours by plane away from KL.

But Fernandes is accustomed to dreaming big, taking risks and opening routes to places most people don’t know about. Like Tiruchirappalli, or Trichy, which he had heard about at a funeral. He decided to fly to Trichy because of the town’s religious significance and the fact that a “lot of Indians from Malaysia and Singapore are from there”.

His dream is for the seven-year-old AirAsia to take on Singapore Airlines — though not all of it. “SQ is the best airline in the world without a doubt,” he said. “My aim now is to tell people that we are as good as they are … in the back end. I think we can be as good in the economy section. That’s my goal before I leave my job as CEO.”

The maverick entrepreneur revealed his company’s ambitions at the end of a slide presentation at an event where he was conferred an award by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak Thursday.

To the amazement of those present, he showed two pictures – one of aircraft livery and the other of AirAsia’s new uniform for its stewardesses. He told his audience that he would name his new company Singapore AirAsia, The Sun newspaper reported Friday.

Fernandez kept the audience in stitches throughout his one-hour presentation, ending it with the remark: “And this is the uniform the stewardesses on board Singapore AirAsia will wear.” He pointed to a picture of a smiling woman wearing a combination of the famous SIA baju kebaya and striking red AirAsia skirt.

While many in the audience laughed it off, aviation industry observers said it was a signal from Fernandez following news reports of Malaysia Airlines being in talks for a strategic alliance with British Airways and Qantas.

A Malaysian news portal said that owing to global economic pressures, the airline industry was going through a consolidation period, with talks of mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies dominating the business pages.

At Thursday’s event, Razak said he was proud of Fernandez’s achievements, not only for his company but for the country as well.

AirAsia is rated as having done remarkably well in Southeast Asia and has begun flights to various destinations in India, catering mainly to the 2.6 million diaspora.

Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes

My father and mother. I believe in the unbelievable, dream the impossible and never take no for an answer.

2 You are such an inspiring and positive person. You are featured in nearly every magazine, but how come you don’t talk about your personal life? For instance, are you married with children? – Doris Ong, clinic nurse, Ipoh

It’s a rule I have with my family and I do not intend to change it. Business is business, personal life is separate.

3AirAsia is now one of the co-sponsors for F1 team AT&T Williams. As AirAsia is a budget carrier and is all about low frills and low cost, does it fit into AirAsia’s strategy to sponsor such a team? – Shane Lai, businessman, PJ

The purpose to sponsor fitted nicely with our strategy especially with AirAsia X’s route map. The F1 is held in some destinations that AirAsia X flies to or will be flying in the future. We would not have sold 25,000 tickets to London if not for the marketing and branding. I also motivate my staff to have high quality and efficiency like the F1 team.

4 How do you see 2009 affecting your business and what are your strategies to overcome this and the competition with Malaysia Airlines? – Lim Meng Siang, investment banker, KL

MAS is obsessed with what AirAsia is doing. They really should be focusing on their market and business, as lack of focus will cause them dearly in years to come. We have moved on. Our battle was about getting rights, we have got them. Our challenge is to continuously keep our fares low and cost down. We are also not looking over our shoulders and believe competition comes from within us.

5 How many flying hours do your pilots have on average and what is their average age? – M.K. Leong, lawyer

Our pilots fly 90 hours. I have to check their age as I do not carry that information in my wallet.

6 How do you intend to reward your shareholders when you keep buying new aircraft at a time when other airlines are scaling down? – Jenny Low, businesswoman

Airline business is not about quarterly profits, it is a cyclical business with ups and downs. AirAsia has a 10-year plan and we are half way through that plan. America’s Southwest Airlines recorded long-term growth and not quarterly profits and they have done very well. To us growth continuity is key in our business and so is growing market share. We have elevated ourselves and have the staying power. AirAsia is a long-term bet.

7 What are the criteria in picking your air stewardess? MAS air stewardess, while also pretty, look more “simple’’ whereas AirAsia stewardess have a more “dangerous’ look. Just curious – Marilyn Phoon, former SIA air stewardess, now E & E engineer

I suppose stewardess should not look the same and I cannot tell them how to look. I leave that to them but they have to be comfortable with their appearance to interact and exude a natural feeling. Crews are the stars of the show and individuality is all about being you, and that is all about creativity and innovation.

8 When flights are late and I try to call your customer service to check the flight status, nobody answers or I am put on hold for an unnecessary long period of time. Why is that so? – Rose Irene Mohammad Ali, chemical engineer, KL

Certainly our call centres have not kept up with the growth the airline has experienced and that explains the huge number of customer calls. We are urging customers to self-serve. We try to send SMS and keep updating customers. We are now outsourcing our call centre but at the same time we are conscious of our cost as higher cost will lead to higher fares.

9 Why do you not package Tune Hotel and AirAsia tickets together? – S.C. Leong, retired auditor

There are some packages but these are two separate companies, although they have common shareholders.

10 Why don’t you sell two-way tickets instead of quoting one-way tickets? – Grace Leong, teenager

One way tickets give greater flexibility and efficiency for people to change.