Malaysia Airlines Is 'Technically Bankrupt'

The new boss of Malaysia Airlines has claimed the carrier is "technically bankrupt", following two plane accidents in 12 months.

Christoph Mueller has confirmed that 6,000 jobs will be cut at the troubled airline - ahead of a rebrand in September which aims to repair the damage caused by the losses of MH370 and MH17.

Consumer confidence was badly affected when Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board in March 2014, and just four months later, Flight MH17 was downed by a suspected ground-to-air missile over Ukraine - killing 298 people.

The tragedies led to Malaysia Airlines being taken into state ownership and delisted from the stock market, but analysts claim the company has been mismanaged for years - a sentiment echoed by Mr Mueller.

"The decline of performance started long before the tragic events of 2014," he said.

Stiff regional competition has led the company to post losses for several years - and in a statement, the airline pledged to "stop the bleeding" in its finances by the end of 2015, in the hope it will return to growth by 2017.

Mr Mueller, nicknamed The Terminator in Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) for the job cuts he implemented at Aer Lingus (Other OTC: AELGF - news) , is expected to reduce the number of long-haul routes offered from Malaysia to Europe, and focus on regional services.

However, a "profitable" twice-daily service from London Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur is set to continue.

Under the new CEO's plans, Malaysia Airlines' workforce would shrink to 14,000.

The challenges facing the company come amid low jet fuel prices, which are expected to make this year one of the most profitable for the industry since the start of the century.

It is expected that the 12-month restructuring plan for Malaysian Airlines will cost £1.1bn - and last week, an administrator was appointed to oversee the transferral of the carrier's assets to a new company.

Mr Mueller said it was "business as usual" despite the disruption - and told passengers all reservations would be honoured, with scheduled flights going ahead as planned.