Airbus SE and AirAsia Bhd, the discount carrier built by Tony Fernandes, were inseparable for years, with the boisterous aviation executive gorging on ever-larger aircraft orders to become the manufacturer’s single biggest customer for single-aisle jets.
That happy marriage ended in acrimony last week after Airbus admitted to illegally trying to sway decision makers in aircraft sales and agreed to a record $4 billion bribery settlement. By Monday, Fernandes was out of the Malaysian airline he had acquired in 2001 and turned into a success.
Fernandes, 55, was one of Airbus’s most loyal customers, a fixture at air shows where he would make a splash with massive orders.
