AirAsia X, Asia's leading long-haul low-cost carrier, has announced the re-designation of Co-Group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and Co-Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes as Non-Executive Directors. Datuk Kamarudin and Tan Sri Fernandes will both continue to oversee the strategic direction of the business and its operations as directors of AirAsia X Berhad. 

Furthermore, AirAsia X Thailand CEO Nadda Buranasiri has been appointed as the new AirAsia X Group CEO, effective immediately. 

"AirAsia X pioneered long-haul, low-cost air travel 11 years ago on 2 November 2007 and continues to grow in line with consumer demand, which is gaining momentum world over," said Fernandes, commenting on the appointment.

"Nadda has had an exceptional career and brings a wealth of experience in a broad range of industries, including senior roles in sales, advertising, banking and the music industry, where I worked with him in 1996 in his role as Managing Director of record label MCA, which later became Universal Music Thailand.  He joined the aviation industry in January 2014 as CEO of AirAsia X Thailand and has been instrumental in not only setting up our Bangkok-based long-haul operations but also making it one of the most successful and popular long-haul airlines in Asia. This is a great example of our internal talent development and succession planning for our key leadership roles.

AirAsia X was initially known as Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) when it started operations in 2006, servicing rural areas of Sarawak and Sabah with turboprop aircraft, before rebranding was done in September 2007. Its first flight was launched to Gold Coast in November 2006. Today, AirAsia X operates out of three hubs, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Denpasar, Bali. 

The airline currently serves 26 destinations across Asia (Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Busan, Jeju, Taipei, Xi'an, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Chongqing, Wuhan, New Delhi, Jaipur, and Kathmandu), Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast), New Zealand (Auckland), the Middle East (Jeddah, Medina and Tehran) and the United States of America (Hawaii). AirAsia X is the first low-cost Airline in Asean to be given approval by the Federal Aviation Administration to operate into the USA.