AirAsia's deals with Airbus in focus as CEO Tony Fernandes steps aside

Chairman Kamarudin Meranun, too, relinquishes post temporarily over links to bribery scandal

Airbus SE and AirAsia, the discount airline built by Tony Fernandes, were inseparable for years, with the boisterous aviation executive gorging on ever-larger aircraft orders to become the manufacturer’s biggest customer for single-aisle jets.

That happy marriage ended in acrimony last week after Airbus admitted to illegally trying to sway plane sales and agreed to a record $4 billion bribery settlement. By Monday, Fernandes stepped away from the Malaysian airline he bought in 2001 and turned into one of the best-known brands in Asian aviation. 

Fernandes was one of Airbus’s most loyal customers, a fixture at air shows where he’d