Air Asia Academy is an internationally acclaimed training centre for pilots and air steward (ess). It is a testament of Air Asia’s dedication to provide quality training and people development. So far, Air Asia had invested RM 80 million for this state of the art training facility. Air Asia partnered with CAE, the world leader in aerospace training in utilizing the latest international training modules and to provide training for third party as well. This “academy’ status is to be upgraded to a “college” soon.
We were given a brief introduction by Evonne and Priya, from Human Resource Executive on the history of Air Asia and a 20 minutes video on it as well. After the presentation, we were given the opportunity to tour around Air Asia office. Rivalry posters between Air Asia and MAS airline were spotted along the office pathway.
It is definitely a thing to be proud of for Air Asia when Evonne showed us the actual purchase receipt for buying Air Asia from HICOM Holding Berhad for cost of only RM1. The reception area cabinet was full with awards and trophies won by Air Asia for their achievement and success for the past 10 years.
Air Asia practices “open space office” where every employee is treated fairly with their working space. Even Datuk Tony Fernandes only has a considerable small working area for people with his position. His working space is the same with the rest of his employees. Evonne also briefed us on the working culture in Air Asia.
( Tony Fernandes's place is where there are lots of caps)
Flexible working hour enable Air Asia management employee to reach and back from office at anytime they prefer and employees are even allowed to take a nap during working hour, provided that they manage to finish their job.
What surprised us even more was the employees in each department have the final decision on which head of department to be chosen, which explains why the success for Air Asia starts from empowering their people.
During the Q&A session after the office tour, we managed to ask Evonne and Priya on questions that relate to Air Asia ticket promotion since Air Asia can still gain profit with such low price tickets. The answer lies in the extensive coverage by local, regional and international media has boosted brand awareness, helping the public to learn more about Air Asia phenomenon.
(proof that MAS Airlines "kecil hati")
In another words, Air Asia gains benefit from free publicity. So, they don’t need to spend lots of money in advertising. The saving in advertising is used to compensate for the low price tickets.
Our tour in the academy starts with a brief introduction by Mr. Liew. Then, he brought us to the most important section in the building: Full Flight Simulator. We were told that each simulator cost RM 12 million and the cost of renting it for interested third parties is USD 400 per hour.
Preference will be given to Air Asia trainee and excess time is for sale. All the simulators use the real air craft components. It is not a surprise if the trainee is tested for landing on a snowy KLIA track since the simulator can generate any kind of weather and map.
Without hesitation, Mr. Liew brought us into one of the A320 simulator. Everyone was excited and can’t stop throwing questions to the instructor. The instructor showed us a few basic steps in operating the simulator. Some members were given the chance to get the feel as a pilot by operating it. In the end, all members didn’t miss this once in a lifetime opportunity by snapping photo of them in the cockpit.
There were hundreds of buttons and switches in the simulator and this can explain why the job as a pilot is so tough. One mistake with the switch and the pilot might risk hundreds of lives in the plane. During the Q&A session, we were told that a trainee pilot has to undergo 10 sessions of training in the simulator with each session takes 4 hours. The first six hours will be normal scenario, seventh, eighth and ninth session will be for emergency scenario and the final tenth will be the assessment.
Besides for training purpose, those who already passed their test are required to return to this simulator every six months for a test where they will be tested with emergency scenario which seldom happens during flight.
Next, we headed to Maintenance Flight Training Device (MFTD). Trainee is required to get familiar with all the switches and buttons in the cockpit before they can train in the simulator. For MFTD, the instructor is still needed to guide the trainee whereas in the computer room, the trainee can adjust the setting (switches and buttons) according to their like since it is not a supervised activity. A mistake in computer room cost them nothing.
Then Mr. Liew lead us to the Cabin mock up, he showed us the newly renovated library for the trainee, multipurpose hall and the swimming pool where they conduct wet drill training. In the Cabin mock up, the air stewardess are taught on how to serve foods and drinks, souvenirs and how to do announcement as well.
The final location was the grooming room where the trainees are taught on how to do their make-up, how to tie their hair, how to walk in a proper way and even how to carry their bag. Air Asia also hired people from Maybeline to give some make-up tips.
Before we left, we took a group photo with Mr.Liew and Evonne at the entrance of the academy. In conclusion, this visit was an eye-opener experience for all of us. It educated us on the strict training that the pilot had to undergo before they can fly a plane and now we know why “Everyone Can Fly”.
