‘LOVE FOR IRELAND IS PULLING ME HOME’
Malaysia Airlines CEO says he got a call from Ryanair two weeks ago to become COO
FERNANDO FONG KUALA LUMPUR kee.soon@nst.com.my
MALAYSIA Airlines Bhd chief executive officer Peter Bellew will rejoin Irish lowcost airline Ryanair as chief operations officer in a move he described as “national service”.
“So, why am I leaving? Negaraku. Love for country is pulling me back to Ireland,” he said on the move to help crisis-hit Ryanair in the wake of the Irish carrier’s pilot-rostering fiasco.
“I got a call from Ryanair on a late evening two weeks ago to be COO. It is Ireland’s greatest company. They need my help and there is a big challenge,” he said in a statement.
Bellew, who is Malaysia Airlines’s third CEO in two years, had initially turned down the offer on Sept 27.
But a week later, a call came from Ryanair again and this time, he could not turn it down.
“I am looking forward to being close again to my family and friends 14 hours away in Ireland.”
He denied there had been interference from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the sole shareholder of MAB.
Bellew said Khazanah had been incredibly supportive of him personally and corporately.
“Although, possibly, I drove Khazanah mad with my constant questions and wish for consensus, I cannot thank them enough for accelerating our transformation.
“Tan Sri Azman could not have been more supportive. Terima kasih, Khazanah,” he said, in referring to Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar.
In a statement on Tuesday, Khazanah refuted a story on NST Online quoting sources that claimed Bellew’s exit was due to differences he had with the sovereign wealth fund.
Tasked with restoring confidence in the airline, Bellew said just another four to five per cent in monthly revenue should move MAB back to profitability.
He said much work had been done globally through the media and travel agents to rebuild the airline.
“People love what Malaysia Airlines stands for. The brand is now revived from China to the United Kingdom, and down to Australia.
“That work must continue and will yield the five per cent revenue growth,” he said.
Bellew spent eight years on Ryanair’s operations team until 2014, prior to his two-year stint at Malaysia Airlines.
He joined Malaysia Airlines as COO in September 2015, when it was led by former Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller.
Ryanair had announced that Bellew would rejoin the airline beginning Dec 1, and he would be responsible for managing pilot careers and training.