Published on YouTube on May 25, the humorous 4.38-minute long clip begins with Harith explaining how Fernandes had asked him for a ride into town from the airport.
“I’m like…what a cheapskate! Anytime he needs help, he gives me a call,” Harith exclaims, saying he was going to tell Fernandes this to his face.
When Fernandes does sit in the car and requests music from a CD, not the radio, Harith quips, “Ah, ok that will be an extra charge”, after which supers appears onscreen saying: “Add Now Value Pack Music: CD + Extra Charge.”
When Fernandes asks for the air-conditioning to be made cooler, he is told there’s a double charge if the temperature is at 15°C and a triple charge if it’s anything cooler.
Looking annoyed and puzzled, Fernandes asks, “Where do you get these charges from?” to which Harith answers: “It’s a business concept. I’m thinking, you know, when someone gets in my car, I just charge them. I don’t know where it came from.”
Catching on, Fernandes plays along saying being charged for everything, even siting in the backseat, sounded “familiar” and was a “smart” idea although he could not remember where he heard the idea from originally.
Harith then introduces his talk show “Obviously Harith Iskandar” and asks if the budget airline boss would agree to being his first guest, to which Fernandes replies, “Yeah, I’d love to man, yeah!”
However when they begin discussing how many topics they will talk about and the duration of the interview, Fernandes turns the tables on Harith, informing him of all the “extra charges” it will entail.
“Above four topics, there will be a charge, ok?” Looking shocked and somewhat dismayed, Harith also learns that he will be charged if Fernandes is required to make jokes, smile, or talk for one hour as opposed to 35 minutes as he did for a Microsoft Chat event that earned him RM150,000. Meanwhile supers appears saying: Add Now Value Pack Humour + Extra Charge.”
Fernandes explains the “reason and the logic” behind his charges and relates it to “that fantastic airline”, while explaining that was how democracy worked.
An increasingly dejected Harith asks for a discount since they were friends, to which Fernandes says: “You know, as you’re a friend man, book it online at www.airasia.com. I’m sure there will be a cheaper price!”
“Obviously Harith Iskandar” will air on May 28 over Astro Awani, featuring apart from his buddy Fernandes, live music by Michael Veerappan.