BANGKOK — Tony Fernandes, CEO of low-cost carrier AirAsia, defended the practice of overbooking, calling it the “right thing to do.”
“We overbook,” he told the media at the World Travel & Tourism Council Global Summit here last week. “It’s common practice, it’s the right thing to do. Because if a plane leaves with an empty seat, that’s revenue lost forever.”
While not criticizing United, Fernandes added that Malaysia-based AirAsia handles overbooking differently.
“We do it before boarding, not in the plane,” he said. “And we just offer whatever it takes to ensure someone goes off. There is always a price at a point where someone says I’ll go off — maybe too many sometimes.”
Fernandes also weighed in on the Gulf airlines and the concerns large airlines in the U.S. and Europe have about their presence.
“If Emirates can do a better job than let them do the job,” he said. “Emirates is bringing lots of tourists to Holland, lots of economic development. What’s wrong with that? If America is trying to protect the three American airlines, so that the Gulf airlines don’t come in, I think that’s a mistake. Because people will lose jobs, etc., etc.”