Gaurav Taneja: IITian, pilot-turned-YouTuber says he earns more than AirAsia CEO who fired him

Gaurav Taneja was fired by AirAsia in 2020 (Image credit: Raj Shamani/YouTube)

Switching from the aviation industry to full-time content creation has proved beneficial for YouTuber Gaurav Taneja, better known by his internet moniker ‘Flying Beast’. In a recent interview with Raj Shamani, Taneja claimed that he earns more than the CEO of AirAsia – the company that fired him.

Gaurav Taneja was fired by AirAsia in June 2020 after he raised concerns about safety norms violations by the low cost airline. He claimed that AirAsia had asked pilots to do 98% of landings in ‘Flap 3’ mode which saved fuel but compromised passenger safety.

Already a popular vlogger, Taneja turned to content creation full time during the pandemic. He currently has 8.6 million subscribers on his YouTube channel – and many millions more on other platforms like Instagram and X (Twitter).

In his interview, which was shared on YouTube three days ago, Taneja was repeatedly asked to reveal how much he makes through brand deals and ads. The pilot-turned-YouTuber refused to give an exact number but did “flex” about earning more than the CEO of the company that fired him.

“Bhai jis company ne fire kiya than na, AirAsia ne, uske CEO se zyada kama raha hun main,” he said.

Born in Kanpur, Gaurav Taneja studied civil engineering at IIT Kharagpur before getting his flying license. He started his aviation career with Indigo. As a content creator and bodybuilder, he has three popular YouTube channels - Flying Beast, Fit Muscle TV, and Rasbhari Ke Papa.

The CEO of AirAsia, Tony Fernandes, is worth a cool $335 million according to Forbes. He was recently in the news for sitting shirtless and receiving a massage during a meeting – an act that earned him flak on social media.