AirAsia was built up from two planes in 2001 to an airline industry titan that operates more than 10 jets in just over a decade but now faces its biggest ever challenge.
A dream run for the airline and its flamboyant boss, Tony Fernandes, turned sour on Sunday, as an AirAsia Airbus 320-200 with 162 people on board went missing during a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
The ebullient tycoon, who is of Indian-Portuguese descent and married with two children, maintained an image of calm and tweeted: "Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. We must stay strong. My only thought (sic) are with the passengers and my crew."
"This is my worst nightmare. But there is no stopping," he said on his Twitter feed, which has nearly one million followers. "I as your group CEO will be there through these hard times. We will go through this terrible ordeal together and I will try to see as many of you."
His Twitter presence and profile have paid off for the airline but his personal involvement is likely to make this a devastating blow for a man who has been so closely identified with the rise of one of Southeast Asia's most visible companies.
He took over loss-making AirAsia shortly after the September 11 attacks in the United States sent the global aviation industry into a tailspin, and was given little chance of succeeding.
"This is my worst nightmare. But there is no stopping," he said on his Twitter feed, which has nearly one million followers. "I as your group CEO will be there through these hard times. We will go through this terrible ordeal together and I will try to see as many of you."
His Twitter presence and profile have paid off for the airline but his personal involvement is likely to make this a devastating blow for a man who has been so closely identified with the rise of one of Southeast Asia's most visible companies.
He took over loss-making AirAsia shortly after the September 11 attacks in the United States sent the global aviation industry into a tailspin, and was given little chance of succeeding.
He bought the airline, its two aircraft, and 40 million ringgit ($13.4 million) in debt for the token sum of one ringgit, mortgaging his house to pour money into the carrier.
With his motto "Now everyone can fly", he turned it into a growing force in the aviation industry, with profits mounting and its route system expanding worldwide.
The AirAsia group, which includes affiliates in Thailand, the Philippines and India, has become a major competitor to regional carriers such as Malaysia Airline, Singapore Airlines and Qantas.
The AirAsia group has had a virtually unblemished safety record until Sunday compared with competitors like Malaysia Airlines and Indonesian carriers such as Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia which have lost several planes in crashes over the last decade.
The AirAsia group has had a virtually unblemished safety record until Sunday compared with competitors like Malaysia Airlines and Indonesian carriers such as Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia which have lost several planes in crashes over the last decade.
In 2013 it was ranked as Asia and the world's best low-cost airline for the fifth time in a row. Fernandes, a British-trained accountant and former Warner Music executive, prefers wearing jeans and his trademark red AirAsia cap.
The chairman of British Premier League soccer club Queens Park Rangers happily poses for photographs with admirers.
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