Potential Qantas partner Malaysia Airlines has undergone a major management restructure as a decision approaches on whether the carriers will launch a premium carrier based in Kuala Lumpur.

The new structure at Malaysia, which is also being sponsored by Qantas into the Oneworld alliance, came into effect on New Year's Day and follows the departure of several key executives from the loss-making carrier.

The airline is also setting up new business units, including a network, alliance, strategy and planning business "to meet the dynamic needs of the market and to leverage on strategic alliances and partnerships with other airlines".

The division will be headed by Hugh Dunleavy, a 30-year veteran who has held senior positions at Westjet, Lufthansa, Star Alliance and Air Canada.

The new structure will see group chief executive Ahmad Jauhari leading the airline's long-haul business and receiving direct reports from customer experience, operations, human capital and network alliance, strategy and planning executives.

Deputy group chief executive Mohammed Rashdan becomes the chief executive of short-haul operations and takes on several financial responsibilities. Other new faces include former Etihad Airways head of pricing Shihaj Kutty, who will lead Malaysia's sales and revenue management operations.

The restructure comes after a business recovery plan announced earlier last month included the surprise announcement that MAS would start a regional premium carrier later this year operating Boeing 737-800s on key business routes.

The aim is for the the new airline to ultimately take over all MAS domestic and regional routes, allowing it to focus on long-haul travel.

But Qantas denied the MAS plan would derail a potential Kuala Lumpur-based joint venture to launch an ultra-premium airline serving medium-haul routes to Australia and within Asia using Airbus A330s.