December 01, 2008 14:42 PM
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Idris Jala, managing director and chief executive officer of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), has been named Orient Aviation Person 2008 for being the driving force behind the national carrier's amazing comeback.
While many wrote off the airline when it made its biggest losses ever of RM1.3 billion in 9 months in 2005, Idris joined the airline and turned MAS' record losses into record profits and rebuilt confidence and morale among its 20,000 employees, all within two years.
"MAS recorded RM851 million in the financial year 2007, its highest profit in 60 years of operations, and is only one of the six airlines in the world recognised as a "5-star airline" by Skytrax, United Kingdom, an accolade it has won for three consecutive years from 2006 to 2008," said MAS in a statement.
Idris said he was pleased and honoured to accept the award as he and his team worked hard to turnaround MAS. Now, they are embarking on a business transformation journey in pursuit of their vision to become the World's FIve Star Value carrier.
Idris said he is blessed with a great team of people who are passionate about the airline.
Orient Aviation chief executive Barry Grindrod said Idris acted speedily and decisively. In the last three years, he has slashed US$500 million costs at MAS.
Idris is on target for additional cuts of US$280 million in operational costs this year. Significantly, he has also restored morale in the carrier which was rock bottom when he joined the airline, Grindrod said.
He has quickly become one of the most highly respected chief executive officers in the industry worldwide, he said.
Previous winners of the award, which was established in 1999, include Chew Choong Seng from Singapore Airlines; Geoff Dixon, Qantas Airways; Jaime Bautista, Philippine Airlines; Kanok Abhiradee, Thai Airways International and David Turnbull, Cathay Pacific Airways.
Source: BERNAMA
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