Malaysia Airlines taken by surprise over CEO Peter Bellew re-joining Ryanair

Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-17 21:38:47|Editor: ying
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KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- The announcement of Peter Bellew, the chief executive officer of Malaysia Airlines, to re-join Irish low-cost airline Ryanair on Tuesday, apparently caught the national carrier off guard.

Referring to the announcement as "unexpected," the Malaysian national carrier said its board of directors will meet and an announcement will be made in due course.

Highlighting the drama, the statement recalled Bellew's commitment to Malaysia Airlines when asked to comment on speculation that he would re-join Ryanair at a press conference with Malaysian and international media on Sept. 27.

"He said that he was happy to be in Malaysia and that the turnaround of Malaysia Airlines would be 'the greatest achievement of my life'," Malaysia Airlines said.

But still, Peter Bellew became the second CEO to jump ship after its predecessor Christoph Mueller left before completing a full-term of his contract in 2016.

Ryanair had earlier announced to the London Stock Exchange that Bellew would re-join Ryanair team in Dublin as chief operations officer, from Dec. 1.

Bellew, who previously worked in Ryanair until 2014 as director of flight operations, said in the Ryanair statement that he is excited to return home to Ryanair and take up the challenge to grow the operation sustainably.

"I look forward to working with all the team and all the crews I know so well to further develop our growth to 600 aircraft over the next 6 years," he added.

Malaysia Airlines, which under Bellew's stewardship just announced a plan to buy Boeing aircraft worth 10 billion U.S. dollars during Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's visit to the United States, maintained that the turnaround of the group remains on track and on schedule, as per the MAS Recovery Plan.

"The group's operations and services continue as normal, and our commitment and priority remains with our customers," it said.

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