Christoph Mueller, the CEO of Aer Lingus, has been chosen by Malaysia Airlines to be its chief executive-designate.
The company is the successor to Malaysian Airline System (MAS) which suffered two disasters this year. First the loss of flight MH370 en route to China and then the destruction of flight MH17 over Ukraine.
In November the airline posted its worst quarterly loss since 2011 as passenger numbers fell.
The airline is being taken private in the wake of these disasters and the new company will be called Malaysia Airlines.
Mueller will be the first ever non-Malaysian to head the airline.
Mueller's notice period for Aer Lingus ends on 1 May 2015. However, Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia Airlines parent company said discussions were taking place to allow Mueller take up his new post before then, but no earlier than 1 March 2015.
The company said Mueller has "a strong record of transformation and turnarounds in the aviation industry" and that he "has demonstrated particular strength in strategic and financial planning as well as structural repositioning of companies in difficulties."
