--- description: Airline executive Christoph Mueller has resigned from his position as head of the troubled carrier title: Malaysia Airlines CEO Resigns After Less Than a Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98f5131ade563533/69888fe1428a9e9447cd24c6/rtx1fpgp.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Aviation](/tag/aviation/) ## Aviation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Malaysia Airlines' CEO Has Quit After Less Than a Year by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2016 3:09 AM CUT  Christoph Mueller, CEO of Malaysia Airlines, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2015 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Miami Beach on June 8, 2015 Christoph Mueller, CEO of Malaysia Airlines, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2015 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Miami Beach on June 8, 2015Joe Skipper—Reuters by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 20, 2016 3:09 AM CUT Airline executive Christoph Mueller has [resigned](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36088834 "undefined") from his position as CEO of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), less than a year after he was brought on in an effort to salvage the ailing carrier. Mueller cited “changing personal circumstances” in his decision to step down, the BBC reported. He will remain in the job until September. The German-born Mueller arrived at Malaysia Airlines last June after years working in the airline industry in Europe, where he was credited with revitalizing the Irish carrier Aer Lingus. Experts were hoping he would deliver the same magic touch to Malaysia’s state carrier, which carried the burdens of substantial financial losses and two catastrophes — the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines [Flight 370](http://time.com/3986109/discovered-plane-debris-from-mh370/ "undefined") in March 2014, and the violent downing of [Flight 17](http://time.com/3963346/mh17-malaysia-airlines-flight-17-russia-ukraine/ "undefined") just four months later. He effectively reinvented the airline as a much smaller regional carrier to compete with budget airlines like Air Asia. Earlier this year, MAS ended its service between Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam — the route of the doomed Flight 17 — and is [planning](http://www.reuters.com/article/singapore-airshow-malaysia-airline-idUSL3N15U1WA "undefined") on selling off larger aircraft like the double-decker Airbus A380. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36088834 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4300336/christoph-mueller-malaysia-airlines-mas-resign/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4300336/christoph-mueller-malaysia-airlines-mas-resign/"},"headline":"Malaysia Airlines' CEO Has Quit After Less Than a Year","datePublished":"2016-04-20T03:09:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:53:20.570Z","description":"Christoph Mueller had been brought in to salvage the ailing state carrier","url":"https://time.com/4300336/christoph-mueller-malaysia-airlines-mas-resign/","keywords":["Aviation","Airlines","Business topic","Malaysia","Companies","Malaysia Airlines","MH370","#MH17"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98f5131ade563533/69888fe1428a9e9447cd24c6/rtx1fpgp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98f5131ade563533/69888fe1428a9e9447cd24c6/rtx1fpgp.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Christoph Mueller, CEO of Malaysia Airlines, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2015 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Miami Beach","caption":"Christoph Mueller, CEO of Malaysia Airlines, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2015 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Miami Beach","creditText":"Joe Skipper—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/aviation/","name":"Aviation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4300336/christoph-mueller-malaysia-airlines-mas-resign/","name":"Malaysia Airlines' CEO Has Quit After Less Than a Year"}}]}] ```