It was almost a regular day at work for Malaysia's most unconventional CEO. AirAsia's Tony Fernandes had just bid goodbye to a planeload of departing passengers and hello to the latest addition to his company - the 15th Boeing 737-300.

This is only to be the first of several such occasions this year. Come December, AirAsia is set to double its fleet and launch the year's biggest initial public offering (IPO) exercise to raise capital to a tune of some RM1 billion.

The man behind the success story was modest when describing his two-year-old company: "We are nobody. We are not particularly rich or connected."

But Fernandes' disclaimer belies the astonishing performance of a company whose growth has persistently outstripped even the most optimistic projections.

When AirAsia started its joint venture in Thailand in January, analysts expected the operation to turn profitable within a year. AirAsia made it to the black in the first month.