Wasta will stop winning when the perceived loss of face for any deficiencies or shortcomings will become too uncomfortable to bear. I am sure Shiekh Mo does not and will not suffer fools and especially so, if the continued success of what is arguably Dubai's most iconic company is at stake.
After watching the Cambridge Business School interview with CM, I personally thought it was rather telling when he remarked that it is difficult to 'create a winning team from existing management'. There were noticeable management reshuffles at Malaysian and also Aer Lingus, which leads to a potentially rather interesting twist to developments. HD departed Aer Lingus in 2010 which was was during the early part of CM's tenure at Aer Lingus. Coincidence perhaps but I am led to believe otherwise.
If CM has been given a mandate to fulfil a role which is similar to those held previously, then I hope he is given the ability to introduce change where it is needed. It is rather worrying if the speculation is true that the company is performing relatively poorly in financial terms, when oil is struggling to punch above $50. We may be filling the economy cabin on many routes but that comes at a cost and that is diminishing yields. Maybe a period of consolidation and restructuring is needed. There is a finite number of people wishing to travel on our flights and peak holiday season aside, I think we may be close to this number on some routes, thanks to over capacity on our part and fierce competition from others.
As one of our ex Malaysian colleagues said to me in reference to CM 'Expect the unexpected.'