Speaking to local radio station BFM 89.9, Mueller pointed out that MAS needed to pay more attention to detail, and that the company had never lost money on the revenue side, only the cost side.
“MAS has always been famous, and still is, for our excellent customer service. That has never been the problem.
“The problem was that cost control was totally out of sync. Not only were there too many suppliers, we also did not negotiate professionally.
“Cost consciousness and paying more attention to detail are the two biggest things we need to do to move forward,” Mueller said.
He added that MAS had always aimed to be the international airline of Malaysia, and lamented that it was often described as a “regional airline” instead.
“I strongly oppose to that. We carry 10 million passengers a year internationally. We are an international airline. We want to connect Malaysia with the world,” he said.
Prior to this, it was reported in The Star Online that the new-look MAS had posted its first quarterly profit of RM14 million after years of losses.
According to the portal, this information on profit was spelt out by Mueller in an email he had sent out to the company’s employees.
“I am delighted to share that we have stopped the bleeding.
“We have seen continued improvements in this first year of the biggest and fastest transformation in our history. We have reshaped our business for a strong, sustainable future by moving quickly and making tough decisions early,” he wrote to his employees.
On the question of how MAS is very competitive compared with AirAsia, despite MAS’ rates being pricier than low-cost carriers yet not “big enough” to be a premium airline, Mueller said it was not a level playing field to begin with.
“I accept that AirAsia is our main competitor, however, we offer better deals and better service. If we compare cost, we have to argue from a level playing field.
“We do not have a level playing field because our main competitor AirAsia does not pay airport charges. They owe the Malaysian airport authority a huge amount of money. So, until they pass this on to passengers, then I would simply say it is not a level playing field, this is not fair competition,” he said.
He then urged the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) to “take a closer look at this”.
Mueller was hired in 2015 to restructure the bleeding airline, which had reported losses of RM450 million in the same quarter last year.
However, Mueller has opted to resign just over a year after he had joined, citing personal reasons. His resignation is to take effect from September.
“I understand that this is a business station. Which part of ‘personal reason’ do you not understand?” Mueller replied, when asked by BFM to elaborate on the reason for his resignation.
He also disagreed with the suggestion that MAS should always have a foreign CEO.
“Definitely not. I would like to see a local MAS CEO soon.”