KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 ― National carrier Malaysia Airlines yesterday named teenage tennis marvel Nick Kyrgios as their new brand ambassador, in what is seen as a bid to restore their image broken by two global incidents involving their planes this year, according to an Australian news report.
The 19-year-old Canberra native of Greek-Malaysian descent now counts the airline among a handful of sponsors backing him, which include Nike, Yonex and Bonds, said the Sydney Morning Herald.
Kyrgios shot to international fame in June this year, when the 144th seed defeated world number one Rafael Nadal in the fourth round of the prestigious Wimbledon Championships.
Back in July, local English daily The Star quoted Kyrgios' mother, Norlaila as saying that he is very close with his relatives in Malaysia.
Norlaila, who was born in Gombak, said her son has visited her family here “many times”, and said Malaysians should take pride in his achievements “as Malaysian blood runs through his veins”.
On December 15, Malaysia Airlines suspended its shares from Bursa Malaysia as part of a government rescue plan for the flag carrier.
Khazanah Nasional, which previously held a 70 per cent stake, is taking over full ownership of the airline as part of a turnaround plan that will be spearheaded by Irish carrier Aer Lingus chief Christoph Mueller as chief executive officer.
The twin disasters earlier this year only deepened the crisis within Malaysia Airlines, which was already suffering from poor management, unwise business decisions and government meddling, according to analysts.
MH370, carrying 239 people, disappeared in March after inexplicably diverting from its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing course. No trace of the aircraft has been found.
MH17 went down in July in rebellion-torn eastern Ukraine — believed to have been hit by a surface-to-air missile — killing all 298 aboard.
