Tony: ‘Sharing economy’ will keep oil prices down

AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes says current trend of hopping into cabs and relying on Uber will greatly impact oil prices in the future.

PETALING JAYA: He may have a fleet of planes belonging to his successful low-cost carrier but AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes prefers to hop into a cab when zipping about in London, UK.

This preference, he said was popular with others too and could very likely impact the price of oil in the future as it had already become a trend.

In an article in The Economic Times of India, the CEO said there were three reasons why the price of oil would remain low, one of which was the “sharing economy” model.

“There are three things that make me feel oil will stay where it is. One is, new forms of energy; two is pollution as countries will have to do more to curb pollution; and the third one – that people are underestimating – is the sharing economy.”

A “sharing economy” is a socio-economic model in which individuals borrow or rent assets owned by someone else, a quick search online says. The model is most likely to be used when the price of a particular asset is high and the asset is not fully utilised all the time.

Explaining his preference for cabs over driving his own car, Fernandes told a conclave in Mumbai last month, “It’s so easy to get a cab or Uber… you don’t have to think of parking, etc.

“There will be less cars in the world as you have more Ubers and Olas, etc along with more public transport.”

Fernandes spends a fair bit of his time in London, where his two kids live and Kuala Lumpur, the headquarters of AirAsia.