PETALING JAYA: Tony Fernandes’ management style has always been somewhat unconventional yet it still strikes a chord when we see a group CEO of a hugely successful low-cost carrier such as AirAsia, hoovering the carpets inside an empty plane.

The BBC once reported that Fernandes believed keeping things simple and being single-minded about his operations was the secret behind his success.

“If you sit up in your ivory tower and just look at financial reports, you’re going to make some big mistakes,” he reportedly told the BBC way back in November 2010, adding that he took a few days every month to work on the ground or with the cabin crew.

Almost 17 years later, the big boss of AirAsia has stayed true to his words as the latest short clip making its presence felt on Twitter shows him, in his trademark jeans and cap, hoovering the inside of an empty aircraft, just as any other housekeeping crew would be paid to do.

Aziz Laikar posted the 23-second video clip yesterday evening, with the caption, “One extra crew on board flight AK6306 to Langkawi. Well done on keeping it super clean.”

Twitter user Shahrin Yahya, wrote, “what a superb CEO!!!!!!” while Zubaidah Zainal left a message, “good boss… sporting, friendly, humble, hard working.”

And hardworking Fernandes sure is.

The man is also one who views his employees as the most important human asset his company has.

“…employees come number one, customers come number two. If you have a happy workforce they’ll look after your customers anyway,” he told the BBC.

And judging by how successful AirAsia has grown to become not just locally but in the Asean region and beyond, Fernandes’s management style has proven to be a sure fire winner.