KUALA LUMPUR -- Christoph Mueller, the chief executive hired to turn around ailing Malaysia Airlines, is to step down for personal reasons. He will leave the carrier by September, before the end of his three-year contract, Malaysia Airlines said Tuesday in a statement.
Mueller, who was credited with reviving Ireland's Aer Lingus, came aboard the airline as a director in January 2015 and assumed the CEO post in May. He was tasked with reviving the national flag carrier, which suffered losses for years and was further crippled by two aviation disasters in 2014.
State investment fund Khazanah Nasional threw a lifeline of 6 billion ringgit ($1.54 billion) to privatize the airline at the end of 2014. Under a comprehensive restructuring plan, the company was re-registered as a new entity to enable harsh measures to be taken, including cutting headcount by 30% and renegotiating contracts with vendors.
"While we would have wanted Mr. Mueller to continue as planned, we also respect and ultimately agree to his decision to leave," Khazanah said in a statement.
Mueller will remain with the airline as a non-executive director and the search for his replacement has begun, Malaysia Airlines said.
As leader, the German has implemented several initiatives, notably cutting loss-making long-haul routes and reduced capacity. In exchange, he signed a code-sharing agreement with Emirates, riding on the Dubai-based carrier's routes to Europe, the Americas and Africa.
Malaysia Airlines had said the tie-up with Emirates would help stem the losses, particularly on long-haul routes. It wants to return to profitability by 2018.
Some aviation analysts said they were not surprised by the sudden departure as Mueller was believed to be unhappy with Khazanah on the direction of the company.
"It is a huge blow for the credibility of Khazanah that someone of the stature of Mueller decided to leave the company," said Shukor Yusof of Kuala Lumpur-based Endau Analytics. He added that it will not be easy for the carrier to find a credible replacement.
However, the Sydney-based CAPA Centre For Aviation said it does not expect a significant slowdown in the implementation of the restructuring.
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