He admits he took his eye off the ball: in hindsight, a bad move. And the airline empire he had created from practically nothing paid the price, said AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes.
"I was getting a bit tired (of running the airline) so I backed off, watched football and did all those other things. I was on my way to retirement," he said.
He founded the Caterham Formula One team, which raced in 2010 as Lotus Racing and in 2011 as Team Lotus, and became majority owner of English football club Queens Park Rangers in 2011.
His ventures made him an international face and AirAsia, a global brand. "I don't regret it but from AirAsia's perspective, it wasn't the best thing to do. The airline suffered from the lack of (my) attention" Fernandes said.
He added in his typical unabashed manner: "When you have a very strong leader, which I am - not to say I am a good leader but a strong personality - and then you disappear, all the little Napoleons become much stronger and they all try and fight each other and we become disharmonious."
He had met The Sunday Times at the Marina Mandarin on Friday after speaking at the Asean Leaders Series organised by Nanyang Technological University's Nanyang Business School.
During a 25-minute interview, Fernandes spoke of the need for Asean integration and the biggest nightmare that hit AirAsia - the Dec 28, 2014 crash of Flight QZ8501.
06/03/16 The Statesman
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"I was getting a bit tired (of running the airline) so I backed off, watched football and did all those other things. I was on my way to retirement," he said.
He founded the Caterham Formula One team, which raced in 2010 as Lotus Racing and in 2011 as Team Lotus, and became majority owner of English football club Queens Park Rangers in 2011.
His ventures made him an international face and AirAsia, a global brand. "I don't regret it but from AirAsia's perspective, it wasn't the best thing to do. The airline suffered from the lack of (my) attention" Fernandes said.
He added in his typical unabashed manner: "When you have a very strong leader, which I am - not to say I am a good leader but a strong personality - and then you disappear, all the little Napoleons become much stronger and they all try and fight each other and we become disharmonious."
He had met The Sunday Times at the Marina Mandarin on Friday after speaking at the Asean Leaders Series organised by Nanyang Technological University's Nanyang Business School.
During a 25-minute interview, Fernandes spoke of the need for Asean integration and the biggest nightmare that hit AirAsia - the Dec 28, 2014 crash of Flight QZ8501.
06/03/16 The Statesman
