Swiss appoints Fehlinger as new CEO

Swiss International Air Lines has appointed Jens Fehlinger as the Lufthansa-owned airline’s new CEO.

Fehlinger, who is currently managing director of the group’s new short-haul carrier Lufthansa City Airlines, will take the helm at Swiss on 1 October.

He will succeed Dieter Vranckx as Swiss CEO who is joining the Lufthansa Group Executive Board from 1 July, with Heike Birlenbach, chief commercial officer at Swiss, acting as the airline’s interim CEO until Fehlinger takes over in the autumn.

Fehlinger, who remains an active pilot with Lufthansa Cityline, joined the group in 2006 and has held a variety of positions, including being responsible for the company’s crisis management office during the Covid-19 pandemic and heading up Lufthansa’s ReNew restructuring project following the crisis.