British Airways has appointed former Aer Lingus boss Willie Walsh as its new chief executive.
BA said in a statement that current chief executive Rod Eddington (55) would retire at the end of September this year.
Mr Walsh (43), who left the top job at Aer Lingus earlier this year, will start as chief executive designate on May 3rd.
"Many commentators have rightly said that Rod Eddington will be a hard act to follow, but I am completely confident that in Willie we have captured the very best person for the job," BA Chairman Martin Broughton said.
Aer Lingus said in a statement the company was "delighted" to learn of Mr Walsh's appointment.
"We would like to reiterate our thanks to Mr Walsh for the significant contribution he made to the turnaround of the airline.
"The appointment is a testament to the business transformation he led at Aer Lingus and we would like to extend our best wishes to him in his future career and we look forward to working with him in the context of the oneworld alliance."
Sources confirmed today that Mr Eddington planned to return to his native Australia later this year.
Outspoken Mr Eddington has slashed costs and cut 13,000 jobs during his tenure at BA and is credited with ensuring the airline survived a slump in global travel following the September 2001 attacks on the United States.
Mr Walsh had been touted in the media as a potential candidate to succeed Mr Eddington, but the market had not been expecting an appointment to be announced so soon.
BA shares rose 2.2 per cent to 282-1/2p at 12.20pm.