Newly appointed Malaysia Airlines boss and former Aer Lingus chief Christoph Mueller has said that the Asian carrier is “technically bankrupt”, underlining the case for a restructuring to cut a third of jobs, scrap some routes, and review its long-haul fleet.

Loss-making Malaysia Airlines is set to undergo a complete overhaul as it is restructured into a new company, with a rebranding that will be unveiled next week and changes planned to its fleet and network strategies.

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.