MYAirline Sdn Bhd (MYAirline), Malaysia’s second low-cost carrier (LCC), confirms today that health was the main reason for its chief executive officer (CEO) Rayner Teo’s resignation amidst talks that it could be due to “other reasons”.
Its corporate communication head Siti Maslinda Sheikh Othman told Business Today that there is no other reason besides health for Rayner’s departure.
“There is no other reason. Only his health is of a concern,” she said today (Oct 9).
MYAirline had announced on Sunday that Rayner had tendered his resignation, which took effect on Oct 7, according to a company circular.
The airline said Rayner, who has been at the helm of the company since its inception, has made the challenging decision to step down due to health considerations.
“We extend our deepest gratitude to Rayner for his outstanding contributions and unwavering dedication to MYAirline. We wholeheartedly support Rayner’s decision to prioritize his health and well-being,” it said in a Board Director’s statement yesterday (Oct 8), adding the airline will continue to deliver exceptional services and uphold its high standards of safety and reliability.
The airline’s current chief operating officer Stuart Cross was reported to fill in Rayner’s post for the interim period until the board of directors appoints a new CEO.
A financial daily had reported that Rayner, who held the post since MYAirline’s inception in November 2020, decided to resign from his position after the LCC’s latest town hall session last Friday, said to be the second in two weeks.
However, a financial daily highlights that it might not be the real reason why the CEO had resigned as MYAirline recently lost a number of its top executives including its chief financial officer and chief commercial officer.
The carrier was rumoured to be facing financial issues as payments to its services providers, including Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) were either delayed or remain unpaid as at time of writing. Staff salaries were also not paid on time for several months.
Rayner and MYAirline’s spokesperson had been contacted by the financial daily for clarification on Sunday with no reply.
However, the spokesperson had said comments would be given in due time. Sources quoted by the financial daily had said MYAirline’s request to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore was denied recently due to airport slot constraint at Changi Airport.
The airline had reduced flight frequency to Bangkok from four times daily, to once a week, said to be due to slot constraints. It had stopped flying to Don Mueang International Airport currently, for the same reason.
The financial daily also quoted a source that said MYAirline have reduced the (flight) frequency to domestic destinations like Miri and Sibu for the winter schedule despite having more planes, adding aircraft utilisation has been decreased due to frequency cuts.
Commercial airlines have two schedules that they follow – summer schedule (from March to October) and winter schedule (from October to March).
Two weeks ago, MYAirline had announced the arrival of its 9th aircraft, an Airbus A320 with the registration 9M-DAN.
In June, Rayner had said the carrier plans to have 20 A320s by end-2023 and add Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam in its network.
He also said MYAirline is targeting to be a public listed company by 2026. Rayner holds two per cent shares of MYAirline while the carrier’s top shareholder is Malaysian entrepreneur Datuk Goh Hwan Hua who owns the majority shares through two private companies, Zillion Wealth Bhd and Trillion Cove Holdings Bhd.
Both companies own 88 per cent and 10 per cent of shares in MYAirline, respectively.
