Malaysia Airlines Names Bellew as CEO

Malaysia Airlines has named chief operating officer and former Ryanair executive Peter Bellew as the carrier's new chief executive, replacing Christoph Mueller who resigned earlier this year.

Bellew will assume the role on July 1, the airline said in a statement on Thursday.

Malaysia Airlines has been struggling since the disappearance of flight MH370 and the shooting down of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, both in 2014.

Bellew was director of flight operations at Ryanair before joining the Malaysian carrier in September.

"Bellew has been integral to the ongoing execution of the turnaround plan for Malaysia Airlines," the carrier's sole shareholder, state-fund Khazanah, said in a statement.

It also said the turnaround plan was on track, with "encouraging signs of progress thus far."

Mueller had said he would stay until September, but he has been placed on leave and will step down from the board immediately.

Mueller was hired last year on a three-year contract to lead the carrier's recovery following the loss of the two aircraft. He announced his resignation in April, citing personal reasons.

A German national hailed as a turnaround specialist, Mueller reduced the workforce by 6,000 as part of a restructuring strategy launched by Khazanah. The airline is expected to return to profitability in 2018.

"For the company and the stakeholders, it would be an extension of their turnaround plans because Bellew was the person who was doing much of the day to day operations," said Shukor Yusof, founder of Malaysia-based consultancy Endau Analytics.

A long-time executive at the airline said Bellew's familiarity with the turnaround plan would help, even though there was some concern that he has never run an airline before.

"It is a bit of a relief as an outsider or someone new could have changed some of the things that Christoph put in place. Malaysia Airlines is finally getting on track and (Bellew) knows what we need to do to turn around the airline and return to profitability," the executive said.

However, the appointment comes after calls for a Malaysian CEO, following comments Mueller made to a German radio station about workers sleeping on the job and having "nothing to do".

After the broadcast, the Malaysian flight attendants union said Mueller did not understand Malaysian work culture, while a Malay rights group led calls for a Malay successor.