Aer Lingus has appointed Stephen Kavanagh as its chief executive. He joins the airline at a time when IAG, the British Airways owners, is looking to buy Aer Lingus in a US$1.6 billion deal.

Kavanagh replaces Christoph Mueller who is leaving on 28 February to take the top spot at Malaysia Airlines.

Kavanagh has been with Aer Lingus since 1988. He held a number of operations and commercial roles before becoming a company executive in 2006. He was part of the IPO team and became CCO in 2009, before taking on his most recent role as chief strategy and planning officer.

“Stephen has worked in Aer Lingus for over 26 years in a range of increasingly challenging roles and he has a commanding knowledge of both the company and the industry. I am particularly pleased that it has been possible and appropriate for an internal Aer Lingus executive to succeed to the position of CEO,” Aer Lingus chairman Colm Barrington said.