What’s the toughest PR assignment in the world right now? If you said “Malaysia Airlines” then you’re right.

Friday brought news thatKetchum, a firm hardly afraid to take on the most challenging accounts around, has signed with MAS to help navigate the ongoing crisis.

The Holmes Report notes that the airline hired Ketchum several days after flight MH370 first went missing but kept the news quiet for obvious reasons.

The most interesting comments in the story come from the former head of communications for Malaysia Air, who admits that the company could have been a bit more sensitive to the concerns of passengers’ family members and avoided problems like the many misleading headlines about the text sent to parents and relatives.