British business magnate Richard Branson went from CEO to trolley dolly, and found the latter job, not to mention a tray of drinks, too tricky to hold on to.

The Virgin Group founder had his legs shaved, put on full make-up and squeezed into a red skirt to honour a bet by serving as a flight attendant on Sunday on an AirAsia trip from Perth, Australia, to Malaysia.

But he earned a reprimand from AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes after he deliberately dumped a tray of orangeade on Fernandes' lap.

Branson lost a bet to Fernandes in 2010 after they wagered that their Formula One racing teams would finish ahead of each other. Fernandes' team landed two spots above Branson's.

Fernandes gleefully declared after Sunday's nearly six-hour flight on his budget airline that Branson's skills as an attendant were "rubbish" and that he was being immediately fired.

A cheerful Branson, who was tasked with pouring beverages, serving meals and making flight announcements, posed with Fernandes and popped champagne after stepping out of the plane at Malaysia's main low-cost carrier terminal south of Kuala Lumpur.

"I think I got off to a bad start. I had a slight slip and the owner got eight glasses of orangeade on his lap so I have a funny feeling that this is going to be my last flight," he told local media.

Asked how Branson rated as a steward, Fernandes quipped: "Out of 10, maybe one, for a bit of humour."

"I wanted to kill him actually" for spilling the juice, the Malaysian told reporters.