I was in my car with Pyan, my friend. Pyan, like many other Borneo natives - a Sarawakian is looking for an honest living here in Peninsular Malaysia. He told me that his mother is arriving tomorrow afternoon for a visit on AirAsia.

“So how much did your mother pay for the flight?”, I asked him.
“About 300 plus Ringgit return”, was his response.

Knowing that Pyan goes back to Kuching frequently, every 3 months since he was a student here in Shah Alam, I asked him how much he usually pays for a return flight.

“About 200 plus Ringgit when I book early. But usually around 300 Ringgit since I entered University,” Pyan said.

“Before AirAsia, how much did you pay to fly to Kuching?” I asked him.

“More than 300 Ringgit, and that was only for a one way flight! We didn’t have any other choice. And during that time, we only flew from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and vice versa only when there’s an urgency. I never even thought of things such as my mother coming to Kuala Lumpur to visit me. It was very expensive, ” he said.

I just realized working in AirAsia is not about coming to work and doing what I like for a paycheck at the end of the month. It’s not just about working with a bunch of enthusiastic engineers and the amazing others, eagerly finding ways to make air traveling a safe and enjoyable trip yet as efficient as possible.

It is about being able to send Pyan home every 3 months and making it possible for a mother such as Pyan’s, to come to Kuala Lumpur to visit him. It’s about bridging the gap that was left open before.

The blogger (left) with his friend, Pyan.