Aer Lingus appoints German businessman as first non-Irish chief

AER Lingus, in a surprise move, has appointed its first non-Irish chief executive officer in its 73-year history.

Christoph Mueller, a 47-year-old German native earned a reputation as a savvy businessman who was not afraid to scrap unprofitable routes in his previous role as aviation director with TUI Travel, where he managed charter airlines with 160 aircraft and 11,000 employees.

Aer Lingus will remain without a chief executive, however, for the next two months as the new chief is not due to start until October 1. This will bring its time without a chief to six months following the departure of Dermot Mannion in April. Mr Mueller has held senior positions at Daimler Benz Aerospace, Lufthansa, the Sabena Group, DHL and Deutsche Post, prior to his role at TUI Travel.