Mueller joins Malaysia Air

The man credited with reviving Aer Lingus has been picked to head the successor company to Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS), which is being taken private after being hit by two separate air disasters.

Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund and MAS’s parent company, said it had appointed Christoph Mueller as chief executive-designate and made other leadership appointments for the new company called Malaysia Airlines Bhd.

Last month, MAS posted its worst quarterly loss since late 2011, as passenger numbers and average fare yields fell sharply following the loss of flight MH370 en route to China and then the destruction of flight MH17 over Ukraine.

Trading in the airline’s shares will be suspended from December 15, the first step towards the struggling airline’s delisting from the stock exchange as part of a 6bn-ringgit (€1.46bn) government-led restructuring.

Mr Mueller, CEO of Aer Lingus since 2009, has been credited with turning around the airline despite a weak European market.

“Discussions are ongoing for Mueller to assume the post of MAS CEO at a date prior to May 1, 2015, but no earlier than March 1, 2015,” Khazanah said in a statement. His contract as CEO of Aer Lingus ends on May 1.

Reuters