oneworld

The abrupt exit of Malaysia Airlines' German boss has revived debate in Malaysia over the wisdom of picking a foreigner to run its ailing carrier, potentially limiting the group's options as it seeks a new leader midway through a radical revamp. Christoph Mueller, a German national credited with turning around Aer Lingus, took the helm at Malaysia Airlines in May last year on a 3-year contract, as it attempted to pull itself back after the loss of 2 Boeing 777s in less than a year. Among the front-runners to replace him as CE is COO and Irishman Peter Bellew, formerly with Ryanair, who sits on the group's board, industry sources and sources familiar with the matter said. Another is Malaysian executive Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, head of Celcom Axiata, who has no experience in airlines but joined the board last year. <br/>

Qantas shares plunge after announcing it was reducing planned flights on domestic routes. The average price of domestic airfares fell by 5.77% in Q1 of the calendar year, after having risen by 8 to 9% last year when demand was stronger. "We are now seeing cheap fares available right up to 5 and 3 days prior to departure," said the Flight Centre Travel Group's consulting arm, 4th Dimension. The cost of the average one-way fare rose by 9.4% to A$147.10 for leisure travellers, while fares for corporate travellers rose by 8.1%t to $176.20, in part because they tended to book closer to the travel date. The cost increases differed by route, with fares from Sydney to Perth rising by just 3.5% but Sydney to Canberra up by 22%. On average, Qantas airfares rose by 7.4% while Virgin's were up by 12.5% from a lower base. <br/>