KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 3 -- Tan Sri Tony Fernandes wants to turn Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok into the "Dubai" of low-cost travel, and he is looking at new planes from China and Brazil to make it happen.

The AirAsia founder and CEO said the budget airline's strategy is to build a regional hub where passengers can connect to more destinations via short-haul, narrow-body planes.

"We want to build a Dubai in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok," he said in an interview with Singapore-based news website CNA published today.

"No one's ever built a low-cost airline hub. My goal is to allow people to fly much further through a short-haul, narrow-body plane strategy. You can fly from one destination, connect, and go to another destination," he was quoted as sayi...