JOHOR BAHRU, 15 Jul. –– Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) has today marked history, with its logo, a symbol of honour for the community unveiled as part of a new AirAsia aircraft livery.
The launch of the UTM-AirAsia Livery, on AirAsia Airbus A320 with the registration number, 9M-AJE, was officially unveiled by UTM Chancellor, Her Majesty Raja Zarith Sofiah Binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah at Senai International Airport. Menjunjung kasih Tuanku.
The unveiling was also attended by the AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri (Dr.) Tony Fernandes, UTM Vice-Chancellor Prof. Datuk Ir. Dr. Wahid bin Omar, UTM Board Member Honorable Dato’ Ismail Karim, AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat and the CEO of Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd, Md. Derick Basir.
The UTM-AirAsia Livery, a branding initiative of UTM, signifies a bold move from the university to support its internationalization agenda.
This co-branding initiative between UTM and AirAsia supports one of the key focus areas outlined in the University’s Global Plan 2012-2020 Phase III, which is Global Prominence and Branding.
UTM Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Datuk Ir Dr Wahid bin Omar in his welcoming speech said, UTM and AirAsia are similar in many ways and we hope this means that UTM is also in the right direction to be a leading brand in higher education globally.
“To advertise on an aircraft in the form of livery would be at the value of RM2.7 million, but we managed to get it for free with the generosity of Tan Sri Tony.
Besides, the livery has also made our 180,000 alumni all around the world excited and eager to fly with AirAsia.
Thank you Tan Sri Tony for making our dream a reality,” he added.
Prof. Datuk Wahid also made a wish on behalf of all UTM community, for the livery to be permanently placed on the AirAsia plane.
“With AirAsia, every dream can come true,” he added.
And to the delight of Tuanku Permaisuri and UTM community, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes announced that the livery will be maintained permanently on the aircraft.
Thus, UTM logo will remain forever on the body of AirAsia Airbus A320.
The story behind the livery originated from Her Majesty Tuanku Canselor who had wanted AirAsia’s Group CEO Tony Fernandes to deliver a Premier Lecture at UTM in September 2017 where much to the delight of the audience, Mr. Fernandes agreed to the request.
The design of the livery is illustrated by experts from the Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, consisting of lecturers and students led by Mr. Azari Mat Yasir who had played a role in designing the new livery with AirAsia.
UTM hopes the unveiling of this new livery will help to promote Malaysia’s higher education internationally and in particular, the ASEAN region.
To date, the AirAsia Airbus A320 with the maximum capacity of 180 passengers, has been flying across Asean region including China.
Prof. Datuk Wahid added, UTM has started having a strong linkage with AirAsia back in 2009 with an MoU and this enabled UTM and AirAsia to benefit from each other.
“We should not stop here. Let’s explore ways to expand our partnership with AirAsia. Perhaps more student internship and staff attachment programs as well as research collaborations can be worked out.
If I may suggest, we could work together to strengthen our MBA program in Aviation Management to cater to the demand of talents in the aviation industry. Your vast experiences in business and aviation would benefit us in terms of making our aviation related programs more relevant to the industry,” he said.
UTM under the Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS) offers Aviation Management while the Faculty of Engineering offers Mechanical Engineering (Aeronautics) program for students who are looking to enter into the aerospace industry.
Congratulations UTM!
And thousands of heartfelt thank you to AirAsia!
