PR professionals laud Tony Fernandes for defending AirAsia pilot

AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has openly praised the crew members of AirAsia X flight D7237 for their leadership and in bringing all 359 people on board to safety.This was following an incident where an AirAsia flight, which was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Perth, had to return to Perth an hour-and-a-half after take-off due to a technical issue which led to intense shaking of the plane. According to several reports, the pilot had initially come under fire for asking passengers to pray when its engine failed during the flight. While some openly criticised the move, Fernandez defended it.In the eyes of several PR experts A+M spoke to, Fernandes’ latest comments and actions were spot on, in sending the right image and brand perception to the public.“The words of a CEO bears great weight in highlighting the right actions and the right behaviour,” David Lian, managing director of Zeno Malaysia, said.“As said in his own words, this was a ‘great leadership’. For the brand, this shows the company is really getting behind its employees when what they do is right,” Lian added.Lars Voedisch, principal consultant and managing director of PRecious Communications echoed similar sentiments, commending Fernandes’ move to defend its employees at the right time.“First of all, it puts the focus on what’s most important- that the crews managed to bring all passengers to safety. Secondly, he put the criticism into context of helping to keep the passengers calm in a very critical situation,” he said.Thirdly, as Voedisch pointed out, the fact that a CEO standing up for his employees sends a very strong message internally as well - that he has his people’s back. It also affirms that he believes he has good people in the company, which adds to the brand perception.He added that handling an avoiding a PR disaster for an airline is an art and people need to be shown empathy towards a situation.Still, there are cases of airlines CEO who missed those sensitivity points. In one of the most high profile cases this year, United Airlines’ CEO, Oscar Munoz was highly criticised for how he responded when a passenger named David Dao was dragged, bloodied and screaming, off an aircraft after he refused to give up his seat for commuting crew members. In fact he needed three attempts to get the PR statement right.When making a statement, said Lian, the CEO needs to have all the facts of a situation, and ensure there are no other sensitivities at stake. He also added,“In times of crisis, the CEO as the company's leader, should bear the responsibility for communicating the company's viewpoint rather than delegating away the responsibility.”Meanwhile, Voedisch added in a crisis, there’s not room for lip service or technocratic language.“Fernandes is a great communicator as he uses simple terms and clear statements. This creates trust in believing he means what he says and is not hiding behind statements that sound like lawyers had written them,” he added.Getting crisis communications rightSo what are the right measures or precautions should an airline CEO take when it comes to handling a PR crisis?The most important thing to remember, Lian said, is “to listen and understand all the facts first, then decide carefully how and what to communicate.“Don't clutter and confuse a difficult situation with over-communication, but rather lend context, clarity, and accurate and useful information,” he added.Voedisch agreed, and said it is essential for an airline CEO (and his team) to get the facts right before sending a clear message.“In this case, Fernandes focused on providing the right framework of what mattered most: that all passengers landed safely in the end. Then, he addressed the possible impact of the criticised announcement and finally, he said what the company is doing next, investigating what caused the incident.”Fernandes has been applauded earlier for his communications style. He reacts fast, uses simple language that people can understand and is not hiding behind meaningless phrases. So he is a great combination of speed, tone and message that reaches people and make it easier to trust and believe him,” Voedisch added.