Abstract

The case discusses the crisis communication strategies adopted by PT Indonesia AirAsia (Indonesia AirAsia), a low-cost carrier in Indonesia, and its founder and Group CEO, AirAsia, Tony Fernandes (Fernandes). On December 28, 2014, Indonesia AirAsia announced that its flight QZ8501, travelling from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore, with 162 people on board, had gone missing. The announcement was made soon after the flight lost contact with the air traffic control. On December 30, 2014, Indonesia AirAsia officially confirmed that the flight with 155 passengers and 7 crew members on board had crashed into the Java Sea. The confirmation came after wreckage and the remains of the passengers on board were found floating on the sea. Soon after reports surfaced of the flight going missing from the radar after the air traffic control lost contact with it, Fernandes took to social media to announce that the AirAsia aircraft was missing. Three hours later, he tweeted that he was taking a flight to Surabaya, where the flight had reportedly gone missing. While Fernandes continued with his communications through the social media over the next couple of days, search teams found debris and bodies floating on the Java Sea. Investigations teams were on board to determine what led to the air crash. The air traffic control reported that the plane had “climbed at abnormal speed” in bad weather before it stalling and crashing into the Java Sea. The air crash garnered huge media attention. Some experts opined that Fernandes and the Indonesia AirAsia team had been exemplary in their communication all through the crisis. They said that Indonesia AirAsia clearly had a crisis plan in place that was articulated. According to aviation experts, the challenges that lay ahead for Fernandes and his team were to continue to manage the crisis effectively while reassuring passengers about the safety of Indonesia AirAsia and its global operations in future. Some experts felt that demonstrating the safe management of its continued operations in future was crucial for Indonesia AirAsia in restoring consumer and investor confidence.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Critically analyze crisis communication strategies at Indonesia AirAsia.
• Understand the issues and challenges faced by the carrier while communicating with its customers and investors during the crisis.
• Understand the need to have a crisis communication plan in organizations to handle crisis situations effectively.

Keywords

Indonesia AirAsia, Low-cost carrier, Southeast Asia, Tony Fernandes, Crisis communication, Crisis management, Social media, Facebook, Twitter, Civil Aviation Authority, Montreal Convention, National Search and Rescue Agency Republic of Indonesia