Malaysia Airlines CEO returning to Ryanair
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Peter Bellew is leaving the national airline and returning to Ryanair as its chief operations officer.
Malaysia Airlines said yesterday it has been made aware of Bellew’s “unexpected” return to Ryanair.
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines pointed out that Bellew had previously denied he would rejoin the Irish airline.
“Malaysia Airlines takes note of the unexpected announcement by Ryanair Holdings PLC to the London Stock Exchange regarding CEO Peter Bellew,” Malaysia Airlines said.
The statement pointed out that during a press conference on September 27, Bellew had expressed his commitment to Malaysia Airlines when asked to comment on speculation that he would re-join Ryanair.
Bellew had reportedly said that he was happy to be in Malaysia and that the turnaround of Malaysia Airlines would be “the greatest achievement of my life”.
“The Malaysia Airlines Board of Directors will meet and an announcement will be made in due course.
“Our operations and services continue as normal, and our commitment and priority remains with our customers. The turnaround of Malaysia Airlines remains on track and on schedule, as per the MAS Recovery Plan,” the statement added.
Just moments ago Ryanair tweeted a message welcoming back Bellew.
“I am 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,” Bellew said in a statement uploaded on Ryanair’s official website.
Before joining Malaysia Airlines, Bellew worked as flight operations director at Ryanair until 2014.