AirAsia Unveils WORLD’S 1st AT&T WILLIAMS FORMULA
ONE A320 AIRCRAFT
 Sepang,
20th March 2008 - AirAsia, the leading and largest low cost
carrier in Asia, today unveiled the world’s first commercial
A320 aircraft with a Formula One team livery. The aircraft,
whose livery is an exact look-alike of the AT&T Williams
racing car, was held to coincide with the Malaysian Grand
Prix which starts on 21 March 2008 and to mark AirAsia’s
extended three year partnership with the AT&T Williams
Formula One team.
AirAsia’s AT&T Williams aircraft is a fitting tribute
to Williams’ traditional racing colours of blue and
white, whilst the ‘nose’ of the aircraft is designed
to look like Nico Rosberg’s racing helmet. The aircraft
AFW30 was named ‘Sir Frank Williams’ in tribute
to Sir Frank Williams, Team Principal of AT&T Williams.
Fans of the famed drivers came all the way around the region
to seize the golden opportunity from the greet and meet session
with the drivers. They were joined by Dato’ Tony Fernandes,
Group CEO of AirAsia Berhad, Adam Parr, Williams F1 Chief
Executive Officer, AirAsia Board of Directors and also the
local and regional media.
The session also saw both drivers touring the aircraft as
well as setting the fastest lap time on AirAsia’s AT&T
Williams Formula One simulator which was located at the LCCT
concourse area. Fans also had the privilege of getting close
to a Formula One car by taking part in a virtual race on AirAsia’s
AT&T Williams Formula One simulator. The experience and
unique chance to sit in the driving seat of a Formula One
car provided them a whole new dimension to the game and it
was almost good as the real race itself!
Prior to LCCT, the AirAsia’s AT&T Williams Formula
One simulator has been around town to build-up the hype prior
to the F1 race. These places include One Utama Shopping Mall,
Sunburst Festival, Bangsar Village and subsequently at the
Sepang Circuit from 23-24 March 2008. Plans are underway to
embark on a regional road show to Jakarta, Thailand as well
as other destinations serviced by AirAsia.
Dato’ Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer,
AirAsia Berhad said “As a true 5-star low fare airline,
we are proud to be associated with AT&T Williams Team.
We have always believed in investing in great talents and
embrace innovation that sets us apart from the other airlines.
We are glad that our vision in this investment is reaping
rewards as AT&T Williams Team is such an incredible success
story. Their performance-driven spirit, independently owned,
distinctiveness and passion are the same qualities that we
strive for. AirAsia echoes these qualities as we are a reflection
of a true Malaysian company that has high hopes to become
a truly global player, building a company from scratch to
become the leading and largest low cost carrier in Asia,”
“We are extremely pleased to have Nico Rosberg and
Kazuki Nakajima here with us today. This tie-up is not only
a good learning avenue for us but is also a platform to achieve
the highest quality and safety standards by sharing experience,
embracing the values of teamwork in the pursuit of our goals.
This is yet another exciting development for AirAsia as one
of our key strategies is to extend our brand globally and
communicate with people via sports marketing. The unveiling
of AT&T Williams livery sees us moving closer to achieving
this goal through our partnership with such an impressive
and inspiring team.” concluded Dato’ Tony Fernandes
Nico Rosberg, AT&T Williams Formula
One driver said “It has been incredible to see the AT&T
Williams livery on AirAsia’s plane. I’m delighted
that the design of my helmet, which I have been racing with
all my life, has been used to create a lasting tribute to
the team’s partnership with Air Asia.”
“I am very impressed at how well the Williams Toyota
FW30’s design has translated to the SFW30 Airbus. I
think we would all like to thank AirAsia for this great venture
and we are proud to be associated with the Airline of the
Year 2007. This is indeed a source of inspiration to both
of us going into the Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend.”
added Kazuki Nakajima, AT&T Williams
Formula One driver.
AT&T Williams is one of the world’s leading Formula
One teams with 16 Formula One World Champions titles to date.
The partnership with AirAsia, announced in April 2007, forms
part of the airline’s long term branding strategy to
build a global brand.
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