Eurowings taps SunExpress chief Max Kownatzki as CEO and chairman, effective 1 Feb 2026

Eurowings has appointed Max Kownatzki — CEO of SunExpress for almost six years — as its new Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board, effective 1 February 2026. He succeeds Jens Bischof after leading SunExpress through a year of record revenues and expanded UK and Ireland operations.

Discovered 2025-12-11T02:44:32.212798-08:00 | 2025-12-11T02:44:32.212798-08:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • This is part of a broader Lufthansa Group leadership reshuffle that reallocates senior executives across group airlines, affecting strategic direction and operational priorities; see recent coverage of the group's board and CEO placements Lufthansa Group board changes.

  • Kownatzki moves from a SunExpress business fresh off a year of record revenues and UK/Ireland network expansion, signalling potential strategic priorities he may bring to Eurowings; relevant background on SunExpress performance is available here and on recent SunExpress partnerships here.

  • The appointment should be viewed alongside market moves that could reshape ownership and network strategy at SunExpress, including Turkish Airlines' interest in acquiring Lufthansa's stake, which may influence future group alignment and fleet plans Turkish Airlines seeks to buy Lufthansa’s 50% stake in SunExpress.

Reported By

Airline Economics aeromorning.com airliners.de Travel Radar aerointernational.de LARA
Sources Tracked
29
First Seen
2025-12-11T02:44:32.212798-08:00
Latest Update
2025-12-16T11:07:25.570839-08:00
Coverage
Aviation

Sources

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