Air Asia, Tiger Airways lock horns on racist slur

Malaysia's low cost carrier Air Asia and Singapore-based Tiger Airways have been locked in a war of words, with heads of both the companies taking digs at each other in public over alleged racist remarks by the Malaysian carrier's ethnic Indian chief.

The rivalry between Tony Fernandes of Air Asia and Tony Davis, an Englishman, who heads Tiger Airways, continued with Air Asia taking out a full-page colour advertisement chiding the Singapore-based airlines.

The advertisement, published in the island republic's The Straits Times depicted a cartoon caricature of a tiger cub on the bottom left with the words: "If tigers were meant to fly, they would be born with wings."

Air Asia put out the advertisement after Tiger Airways had reportedly accused Fernandes, an ethnic Indian, of making a racial slur with his "white guys" remark.

Tiger Airways had earlier expressed disappointment over Air Asia head's alleged racist remarks.

In a recent Bangkok Post article, Fernandes had expressed his scepticism over Westerners running any successful Asia-based business.

"We're Asians, not a bunch of white guys running the airlines," Fernandes was quoted as saying in the article.