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Malaysia Airlines appoints new CEO

Xinhua, June 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Malaysia Airlines announced an early leadership transition Thursday, appointing aviation veteran Peter Bellew as its new chief executive officer (CEO).

Bellew, the incumbent chief operating officer, will take over from Christoph Mueller as group managing director and CEO effective July 1.

Bellew has over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry. Before joining Malaysia Airlines, the Irish held several positions in Ryanair, according to Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia airlines said the appointment of Bellew CEO would ensure continuity in the execution of the its turnaround plan and further progress of the overall restructuring effort.

Malaysia Airlines was on a loss for several years due to high cost and competition from the low-cost airlines like AirAsia. Its situation worsened following the twin accidents of MH370 and MH17 in 2014.

The airlines was delisted and incorporated into a new company with Mueller as CEO in 2015 to lead the turnaround. It was hoped that Mueller could repeat his success with Aer Lingus, Ireland's flagship carrier.

Under Mueller, Malaysia Airlines cut its workforce by 6,000 last year, cancelled some unprofitable low-haul routes. Mueller wanted to shrink the airlines into a regional carrier with the focus on mid-range flights. In December, Malaysia Airlines announced a tie-up with Emirates for the latter's vast network.

Mueller announced a early departure unexpectedly earlier this year, and was serving his notice period until September. He had complaint about Malaysia Airlines' redundancy in interviews with media recently, which triggered fierce criticism from the workers' union. Endit