Leadership Change: Lufthansa Group Announces New Appointments at Three of Its Airlines

Lufthansa Group has announced a series of significant changes to the management of its airlines, as part of a broad reshuffle at the group's top level. The new appointments will affect the group's three core airlines – Edelweiss, Eurowings and Lufthansa City Airlines.

Edelweiss

As part of the move, Edi Wolfensberger will be appointed CEO of Swiss airline Edelweiss starting October 1, 2026. He will replace Bernd Bauer, who is ending his career at the Lufthansa Group after a career of more than 30 years in the aviation industry.

Eddie Wolfensberger. Photo: Lufthansa

Wolfensberger currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Eurowings, and previously held a number of senior positions within the Lufthansa Group, including CEO of Lufthansa Aviation Training Switzerland, COO of Brussels Airlines, and management positions at SWISS.

Eurowings

At the same time, Matthias Spohr will be appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer of Eurowings, also effective October 1. Spohr has been Head of Lufthansa Aviation Training since 2021, and previously served as Fleet Manager at Germanwings and Head of Flight Operations at Eurowings. In addition to his management duties, he continues to fly as a captain for Lufthansa on Airbus A320 family aircraft.

Matthias Spohr/ Photo: Lufthansa

Lufthansa City Airlines

Another change will take place at Lufthansa City Airlines, where Michael Kircher will be appointed CEO and Accountable Manager of the company effective November 1, 2026. In addition, he will serve as Co-CEO of Lufthansa Aviation GmbH.

Kircher comes from Austrian Airlines, where he was responsible for flight crew training and a captain on A320 aircraft. He will replace Peter Albers, who will step down from his management role and focus on his role as captain at Lufthansa, as previously planned.

Michael Kircher/ Photo: Luthansa

Farewell to One of the Group's Most Prominent Leisure Airline Managers

Bernd Bauer, who is ending his term as CEO of Edelweiss, began his career in the aviation industry in 1994 at Crossair and later held a variety of senior positions at SWISS. In 2014, he was appointed CEO of Edelweiss, and between 2022-2025, he also served as CEO of the leisure company Discover Airlines, where he led its establishment as one of the group's important leisure companies in the German market.

Dieter Vranckx, Chief Commercial Officer of the Lufthansa Group, thanked Bauer for his contribution and said that during his career he played a central role in developing the group's leisure activities.

"Bernd Bauer has played a decisive role in advancing the Group’s leisure airline business and has thereby made a significant contribution to the success of the Group as a whole. He successfully steered Discover Airlines through a challenging period and developed Edelweiss into a flagship airline within the Lufthansa Group, always demonstrating entrepreneurial vision and courage, passion, a strong team spirit and outstanding leadership qualities."

Peter Albers also received praise from the group's management. Heiko Reitz, member of the Lufthansa Airlines management board, noted that Albers led the establishment of Lufthansa City Airlines from day one, built its operations and laid the foundations for its future growth.

According to him, Michael Kircher's extensive experience at Austrian Airlines will help lead the young airline to the next stage in its development.

The new series of appointments reflects the continued strategic preparation of the Lufthansa Group, which continues to strengthen its subsidiaries and place experienced management teams in place for continued expansion in the European and international aviation market.