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SINGAPORE – One of the best-known names in global aviation is preparing to step back from the front lines.

Mr Tony Fernandes, the larger-than-life character credited with revolutionising budget air travel in Asia, plans to focus more on areas such as health, education and private equity.

The 58-year-old Malaysian will be moving on as the industry emerges from Covid-19. Like other carriers, AirAsia, the group he founded, was floored by the pandemic. It is no longer quite the empire it once was, having closed down ventures in Japan and India, but it still operates airlines out of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, and plans a Cambodia launch.

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“Good leadership is to know when to go,” he said in a recent interview in Singapore. “Aviation as my journey might be coming to an end. I have got to talk about succession planning. Exactly when I press the button, I don’t know, but I want to talk about it because I want to attract the right leaders.” 

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