REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SURABAYA -- Within hours of the flight disappearing from radar after taking off from Surabaya in Indonesia, he was in the city to meet with families of the passengers and crew. At the same time, the airline and its Indonesian unit in particular were issuing regular statements about the known facts in several languages and had set up a hotline for relatives.

If AirAsia continues in that vein, "it is probably going to prevent a crisis from turning into a reputational train wreck," Sapriel said.

Fernandes "is the boss and everyone knows it," said Maybank aviation analyst Mohshin Aziz. "The human factor is definitely very genuine, from the words he chooses to the facial expression."

Many family members praised AirAsia for being swift in responding to their needs. The airline was quick to arrange hotel accommodation and transport for those from outside Surabaya.

"AirAsia has taken good care of us from day one," said Ronny Tanubun (37 years) who lost his 13-year-old nephew. "This is a tragedy, what can we do? It's fated. It can happen to any airline. I am not afraid of flying with AirAsia," he said at the family crisis center at the Surabaya police headquarters.

Still, others complained the airline didn't provide useful information during briefings.

"They are not telling us anything about the latest development. We have to find out by watching TV," said Masykur, 52, who has four family members on the plane.

Even as experts praise AirAsia for its initial handling of the situation, they caution there is a long way to go before it can put the disaster behind it. Its share price is down 8 percent since the crash, wiping nearly 200 million USD from the airline's stock market value.

There is likely to be a falloff in passengers from Indonesia, where most of the victims are from. It is an important market for AirAsia, the biggest economy in Southeast Asia and the world's fourth-most populous nation. 

The accident investigation report will be of paramount importance for the families of those on board and the airline. If the investigation shows the airline is in some way to blame, it will be crucial for AirAsia to fully acknowledge that and convincingly show it is taking action to ensure that type of accident can never happen again, said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research.

"AirAsia will find that while it is tough to get the message across, people will appreciate their candor," he said.

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