How AirAsia's $10 Billion Gamble Could Break Emirates and Qatar's Stranglehold!
On February 11, 2026, AirAsia announced the most ambitious bet in low-cost aviation history: a $10 billion hub in Bahrain, 100 aircraft, and 45 million passengers a year connecting Southeast Asia to Europe and Africa.Seventeen days later, a Gulf crisis broke out.This is the story of Tony Fernandes's lifelong obsession with making Europe affordable for Asian travellers and whether his biggest gamble yet will pay off, or go down as the worst-timed announcement in aviation history.AirAsia was bought for a single Malaysian ringgit in 2001. It had two aircraft, 250 staff, and a country where less…
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