Eurowings has appointed Max Kownatzki as its new Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board, effective 1 February 2026. He will succeed Jens Bischof, who is stepping down after more than five years in the role and over 35 years in leadership positions across the Lufthansa Group.
Bischof, who assumed the CEO role in March 2020 during the height of the global pandemic, is credited with transforming Eurowings from a loss-making carrier into one of the Lufthansa Group’s top-performing airlines. Under his leadership, the airline strengthened its value-focused positioning and was named “Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe” by Skytrax in 2025.
Kownatzki joins with extensive industry experience and a strong performance record. As CEO of SunExpress—a joint venture between Lufthansa Group and Turkish Airlines—he guided the airline through the pandemic and led it to historic revenue and passenger levels, including €2.2 billion in revenue and 15 million passengers last year. His earlier roles include co-founding Eurowings Europe flight operations, senior commercial leadership positions within Eurowings, strategic roles at Lufthansa Group hub airlines, and executive posts at Jetstar Group.
Lufthansa Group Executive Board member Michael Niggemann praised Bischof’s achievements and highlighted Kownatzki’s strategic vision, operational expertise, and familiarity with Eurowings as key strengths that will support the airline’s continued growth.
Kownatzki holds a doctorate in business administration from the University of St. Gallen and a commercial pilot’s license.