And as long as no serious safety lapses emerge, analysts say the robust and media-savvy business built up by the Malaysia-based group should help overcome its first major reversal.
From immediately after the crash, AirAsia’s colourful boss Tony Fernandes publicly took responsibility, visited victims’ families, and vowed to find out what happened.
Such actions are critical in restoring trust, experts say, and stand in stark contrast to Malaysia Airlines’ fumbling, tight-lipped handling of the still-unsolved disappearance of Flight MH370 last March with 239 aboard.
“This is an excellent case of a crisis being handled well, to show your customers that things are being taken care of in a hands-on manner, and that the executives are not just sipping their coffees in a cosy office,” said Daniel Tsang, an aerospace analyst with Aspire Aviation.
Even if any safety lapses are pinned on the carrier, aviation analysts say AirAsia could mitigate the impact with an aggressive and public campaign to address shortcomings.
AirAsia would need to “be upfront about safety lapses, own up to error, lay out ways to avoid future [accidents], and move on”, said Terence Fan, an aviation expert at Singapore Management University.
“Unless serious lapses at the airline were found, an airline typically bounces back in a few months in terms of traffic.”
Taking to Twitter, Fernandes last week vowed all the facts will come out. “We never hide,” he declared.