KUALA LUMPUR – A smiling face, clarity in thought, firm in principle ‒ Kesavan Sivanandam has risen through hard work and currently serves as the Chief Airport and Customer Experience Officer of AirAsia, the world’s leading low-cost airline.
A native of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, he has made a mark for himself in the airline with his perseverance and hard work. Kesavan says that his desire to achieve success in this field at the young age of 20 has led him to the position he is in now.
“Everyone has ambitions during their studies. Ever since I was in university, my dream has always been to work at the airport,” he says.
At the age of 20, he took an arduous entrance exam to pursue post graduate specialisation in Tourism Management from the Central University, which spawned his foray into Aviation which took him to several airports and countries across the World, before taking up the mantle at AirAsia.
Kesavan continues: “There are many categories in the industry of tourism, such as airlines, hotels and transportation. Working at an airport in general has always been something that has fascinated me. Airports are a bustling environment where people are always actively moving around. Hence, I chose the airline category seeing as it was the category I was most interested in.”
From 1996 to 1998, while he was pursuing his postgraduate studies in a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Kesavan began working at the local airport. At that time, there were only two airlines operating in India ‒ AirIndia and Jet Airways. His job occasionally brought him to Chennai and Mumbai airports due to field work.
The look and feel of the airport sparked an interest in Kesavan to pursue a career at the airport after graduation.
“When we think of an airport, everyone automatically assumes that the work must be related to aircraft, but there is a big difference between technical crew and airport staff. Airlines are a big part of an airport, and it encompasses a huge scope,” he explains.
“Airports usually have a lot of facility infrastructure operation jobs. I started working in the airline division at the airport upon completing my MBA, as I realised there is a huge dependency by the passengers on the airlines more than anything else.
“Till today, I am always reminded that the safety of the passengers travelling on the plane is of utmost priority. Since joining AirAsia in 2014, I have been on a memorable journey with the company which involves a lot of travel.”
He goes on saying: “I’m immensely proud to say that AirAsia is an organisation that I’ve loved working for the most, and have served the longest throughout my career. My gratitude goes out to Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Mr Bo Lingam and AirAsia for giving me the opportunity to embark on this journey. I’d also like to thank my wife Rajalakshmi and my daughters Varsha and Shreya who have always been a constant source of support all this while.”
The success and perseverance of Kesavan shows the world that nothing is impossible for anyone with hard work and self-confidence. -MalayaDailyToday
