AirAsia flight 8501 goes missing

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes has asked his company to stay strong. "Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. We muststay strong," tweeted Fernandes, an ethnic Indian, who set up the budget airlines which now flies to several countries. Malaysia has also offered assistance in the search operation.AirAsia is popular in the region as a budget carrier. It has about 100 destinations, with subsidiaries in several Asian countries.The loss of contact with the AirAsia plane comes nearly 10 months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370, which dropped off radar over Southeast Asia on March 8.