KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 30): AirAsia X Bhd has appointed board member Datuk Kamarudin Meranun as Group chief executive officer (CEO) and Benyamin Ismail as acting CEO, cementing months of on-going rumours AAX chief Azran Osman-Rani would exit the company.

In a statement today, the long-haul arm of low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd confirmed Azran’s “cessation” as CEO, with effect from today.

No reasons were provided for Azran’s cessation as CEO. He was appointed AirAsia X CEO in July 2010.

AirAsia X (fundamental: 0; valuation: 0.3) only noted the new appointments of Kamarudin and Benyamin, is “part of an on-going reorganisation exercise.”

“Over the past few months, we saw the company facing challenges in a difficult environment. After a thorough review, a decisive turnaround plan was initiated to put the company on substantially better financial footing, to ensure we bring back confidence to the market,” Kamarudin said in the statement.

“With this robust plan in place, AirAsia X will advance to the next chapter of growth and uphold its leadership position in the long haul, low cost market.

“The AirAsia X board and the co-founders, including myself, are confident in this plan and we will be executing a rights issue and we will fully underwrite our portion in support of the company,” he added.

Kamarudin maintained AirAsia X is a solid company and remains confident that together with Benyamin, who has a thorough understanding of the AirAsia and AirAsia X business model, the company can turnaround to profitable growth.

The statement noted Kamarudin will spearhead and develop the overarching strategy for the AirAsia X Group, which encompasses AirAsia X Bhd, AirAsia X Thailand and Indonesia AirAsia Extra.

Benyamin, together with Kamarudin, will lead the reorganisation and turnaround exercise to strengthen the company's balance sheet and to maximise profitability, to ensure a stronger financial footing for the company.

Benyamin said AirAsia X will continue to expand into new markets, to build an unbeatable regional network.

“Combined with the synergy with the AirAsia network, we will be able to cement our position as the airline of choice across this region,” he said.

Benyamin joined AirAsia Bhd in 2010, heading the investor relations team.

His most recent role in the company was as Corporate Development, Implementation and Investor Relations group head.