Matthias Spohr, previously Managing Director of Lufthansa Aviation Training GmbH, joins the Eurowings Executive Board today as Chief Operating Officer (COO). He will be responsible for Crew Operations, Flight Operations, Ground Operations & IOCC, Safety, Security & Compliance Monitoring, Crew Training and Technical Fleet Management / Eurowings Technik. As a member of the three-person Executive Board alongside CEO Max Kownatzki and CFO Kai Duve, Spohr succeeds Edi Wolfensberger. Wolfensberger will become the new CEO of Switzerland’s leisure airline Edelweiss, which is also part of the Lufthansa Group.
For Matthias Spohr, Eurowings is familiar territory: from 2015 to 2021, he served as Head of Flight Operations at Eurowings Germany and as Nominated Person Flight Operations.
‘I’m thrilled to welcome Matthias Spohr back to Eurowings. He knows our company, our flight operations and, most importantly, the people who work with tremendous passion and personal commitment for our guests every single day. Matthias brings not only extensive aviation experience, but also a genuine enthusiasm for Eurowings, innovation and teamwork. This combination, together with his energy and strong connection to our company, will be a tremendous asset. Together, we want to shape the future of Eurowings and open the next chapter in our success story,’ says Max Kownatzki, CEO of Eurowings.
Matthias Spohr began his career in aviation in 1990 by completing his training at Lufthansa’s flight school in Bremen. While waiting for a position at Lufthansa, he studied economics at Ruhr University Bochum, graduating with a degree in economics. From 1995 onwards, Spohr flew Airbus A320 and A340 aircraft for Lufthansa. In 2005, he trained as an A320 captain with Condor Berlin. Spohr joined Germanwings in 2013 as Head of the A320 fleet.
At Lufthansa Aviation Training (LAT), Matthias Spohr was responsible from 2021 onwards for the restructuring and successful relaunch of the European Flight Academy. He also provided key impetus for the growth and further development of LAT’s other companies. This included, in particular, the modern and efficient development of pilot training through the strategic realignment of the instructor model, the strengthening of new business areas and the consolidation of additional business activities within the product division ‘Beyond Aviation Training’. Overall, these measures significantly sharpened LAT’s positioning and role within the Lufthansa Group.
Matthias Spohr, 56, is married and has three children.
