When we imagine a typical office, we imagine cubicles, elevators, and your boss’ office. Sometimes, being in just a typical office can be somehow stressful and more serious. However, AirAsia wanted to do things differently for its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Meet RedQ, the main headquarters of AirAsia which is located at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Complex. RedQ, otherwise known as “RedQuarters” is not your typical office building. It is like a small village community with everything you need that makes work more fun.
I am indeed privileged to have seen RedQ myself and indeed, I was just so amazed! If you are an employee of AirAsia Malaysia, this place can easily be your second home.
The office itself has a row of restaurants, a convenience store, a salon, a coffee shop, a full gym, physical therapy area, a basketball court, mini golf, and an outdoor cafe! Indeed, it has everything that a small village community would need.
Let’s not forget that twisty slide that goes from the third floor to the 1st level of the main area.
The story of RedQ
In 2016, AirAsia moved all its operations to RedQ. The whole building is about 18,000 square meters in area. The design uses an open plan and a lot of open spaces. This makes communications also easier for all 2,000 employees in the building. The atrium is also equipped with bridges that go from one side to another for faster and easier access between offices.
RedQ also uses an industrial aesthetic design.
Indeed, RedQ is reflective of AirAsia’s fun and casual spirit which is part of their whole culture.
What’s around the building?
All of AirAsia’s main operations except for the cabin crew training area are housed in RedQ. Flight operations, inflight services, marketing, planning, and the executive offices are at this building. The first floor is where the salon, convenience store, multi-purpose area, and restaurants are located. Flight crew operations where pilots and cabin crew prepare for flights are also on the main level.
Other features of the building are themed conference rooms where some are named after AirAsia’s hubs. So of course, there is a room named after Manila or MNL.
If you are also tired and would want to get a quick shut-eye, some floors have sleeping capsules where Allstars can reenergize. Grooming standards particularly for the cabin crew are very high and as such, Allstars who want to enjoy a haircut and perhaps who want a new hairstyle can also visit the salon. While waiting for your turn though, you may enjoy a coffee just at the coffee shop beside it. Yes, all these are inside RedQ.
The design and environment of RedQ are aimed to stimulate creativity and generate new ideas. According to Capital CEO group CEO Tony Fernandes, “The new headquarters is designed with our AirAsia Allstars (employees) in mind and we are committed to providing the best for our employees who are the pillars of strength and the reason for our success.”
With a lot of open space, the building maximizes space utilization, creating collaborative nodes as well as providing contemplative and creative corners in a variety of layouts.
My favorite area
If you will ask me personally what my favorite area would be, that would be the roof deck. That’s because you can get a whole view of the planes flying in and out of KLIA2. If you are an avid planespotter, then this building would be paradise.
On the roof deck, you will see a mini-golf area and a basketball court. It also has a lounge or somewhat like an outdoor cafe. Other notable areas in the building are the physical therapy room where professionals do ensure that you are in tiptop shape, particularly the flight crew. The gym across it is also complete.
However, my highlight is meeting Mr. Tony Fernandes himself, who fondly called me “Mr. XLR” after asking him a question concerning AirAsia’s A321XLR orders. He is such a casual and down-to-Earth guy who happily answered all our questions. He was casually dressed too, wearing a pink shirt, jeans, and of course, his cap.
AirAsia is all about fun and creativeness
Everything about AirAsia from RedQ to Mr. Tony Fernandes himself is all about fun, friendliness, and warmth. Even the employees were very warm to us, happily touring us around their second home. This is now what makes AirAsia different. Fun, friendly, and professional. It begins from a solid foundation which is their RedQ home, the environment, and work culture. This kind is also carried out to AirAsia subsidiaries like AirAsia Philippines.
Yes, you would not wonder why RedPoint, AirAsia Philippines’ office at the NAIA 3 is equipped with themed conference rooms, swings, a gym, murals, and an open workspace.
How I wish we had more time around RedQ. I would have wanted to try the slide myself however, our schedule was somewhat tight.
AirAsia is indeed huge. From a startup with just two airplanes to now more than a hundred aircraft with thousands of employees across Asia and a building like RedQ, its just so amazing to see how far AirAsia has come.
First love never dies. I fell in love with airplanes and aviation when I was a kid. My dream was to become a pilot, but destiny led me to another path: to be an aviation digital media content creator and a small business owner. My passion for aviation inspires me to bring you quality content through my website and social accounts. Aviation is indeed in my blood and blog!
