BANGKOK. — Philippines AirAsia will go all out in supporting weightlifter Hidylin Diaz in her campaign to compete and win a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
“More than just giving Hidylin free travel privileges, we also want to do even better in Tokyo,” Philippine AirAsia chief executive officer Capt. Dexter Comendador said on Thursday as the airline paid tribute to Southeast Asian athletes who shone in the
Rio Olympic at the Marriott Grand Ballroom here.
“We are drawing up a plan so Diaz can continue training for the 2020 Olympics,” Comendador said of Diaz, who won a silver medal and ended the country’s 20-year medal drought in the quadrennial games.
“We are proud that she is one of AirAsia’s goodwill ambassadors and our only silver medalist in the Olympic Games.”
The Philippines AirAsia official added that he’s personally proud of the accomplishment of the newly-promoted Airwoman First Class, having been a former Air Force captain himself until 1993.
In recognition of their accomplishments, Southeast Asian athletes who won gold medals in Rio were given the privilege of lifetime free flights on AirAsia while silver medalists will be able to fly on the region’s leading budget carrier without paying for
five years. Bronze medallists will enjoy the privilege for three years.
Winning gold medals in Rio were Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling and Vietnamese marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh.
The Rio standouts were each given a corresponding special AirAsia BIG card in gold, silver and bronze, respectively, allowing them to book flights to any of the more than 120 destinations within Asia and AirAsia X’s extensive network in Asia,
Australia, the Middle East and Africa.
All medal winning athletes were also given a scale model of AirAsia’s Airbus A320, the airline’s flagship.
“In our own small way, we want to help our Asean Olympic achievers, who now serve as inspirations to the rest of the region that they can also work hard and aspire to be champions,” said Malaysian AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes.
“Too often sports is overlooked in Asean but their achievements show we can be the world’s best when we set our mind to it, together with the right support and infrastructure,” Fernandes added. “We will be able to make use of the free flights
whenever they want, as many times as they want, no ifs, not buts, no funny conditions.”
Fernandes expressed the hope that their rewards would help the athletes curb their costs in competing internationally “especially within our airline’s network. They can load their equipment free of charge whenever they travel with us.”
Asked what she would do with her latest reward, Diaz said she would first like to visit some of the top tourist spots back home “like Davao kasi may Samal Island duon, Coron sa Palawan and Cebu. May-pagk-lakwatsera rin naman ako.”
From its main hub in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, the budget airline is the only carrier that flies to 10 Southeast Asian countries, including 60 “unique” routes in the region.
“More than just giving Hidylin free travel privileges, we also want to do even better in Tokyo,” Philippine AirAsia chief executive officer Capt. Dexter Comendador said on Thursday as the airline paid tribute to Southeast Asian athletes who shone in the
Rio Olympic at the Marriott Grand Ballroom here.
“We are drawing up a plan so Diaz can continue training for the 2020 Olympics,” Comendador said of Diaz, who won a silver medal and ended the country’s 20-year medal drought in the quadrennial games.
“We are proud that she is one of AirAsia’s goodwill ambassadors and our only silver medalist in the Olympic Games.”
The Philippines AirAsia official added that he’s personally proud of the accomplishment of the newly-promoted Airwoman First Class, having been a former Air Force captain himself until 1993.
In recognition of their accomplishments, Southeast Asian athletes who won gold medals in Rio were given the privilege of lifetime free flights on AirAsia while silver medalists will be able to fly on the region’s leading budget carrier without paying for
five years. Bronze medallists will enjoy the privilege for three years.
Winning gold medals in Rio were Singapore swimmer Joseph Schooling and Vietnamese marksman Hoang Xuan Vinh.
The Rio standouts were each given a corresponding special AirAsia BIG card in gold, silver and bronze, respectively, allowing them to book flights to any of the more than 120 destinations within Asia and AirAsia X’s extensive network in Asia,
Australia, the Middle East and Africa.
All medal winning athletes were also given a scale model of AirAsia’s Airbus A320, the airline’s flagship.
“In our own small way, we want to help our Asean Olympic achievers, who now serve as inspirations to the rest of the region that they can also work hard and aspire to be champions,” said Malaysian AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes.
“Too often sports is overlooked in Asean but their achievements show we can be the world’s best when we set our mind to it, together with the right support and infrastructure,” Fernandes added. “We will be able to make use of the free flights
whenever they want, as many times as they want, no ifs, not buts, no funny conditions.”
Fernandes expressed the hope that their rewards would help the athletes curb their costs in competing internationally “especially within our airline’s network. They can load their equipment free of charge whenever they travel with us.”
Asked what she would do with her latest reward, Diaz said she would first like to visit some of the top tourist spots back home “like Davao kasi may Samal Island duon, Coron sa Palawan and Cebu. May-pagk-lakwatsera rin naman ako.”
From its main hub in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, the budget airline is the only carrier that flies to 10 Southeast Asian countries, including 60 “unique” routes in the region.
http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/sports/airasia-backs-diaz-all-way-tokyo-games
helloworld123
don't get carry away!
2016-09-09 16:36