Christoph Franz, the head of Swiss International Air Lines, has been appointed deputy CEO of German parent company Lufthansa.

Franz would also oversee the company's main business, passenger airlines, Lufthansa said on Thursday.

German media have speculated that the 48-year-old German is a leading candidate to succeed Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber, who retires next year at the age of 63.

Franz has been with Swiss since 2004, a year before Lufthansa bought the company in the biggest airline merger since Air France took over KLM.

Franz, whose appointment at Lufthansa is effective from June 1, will be replaced at Swiss by another German, 45-year-old Harry Hohmeister, who has been on the Swiss board since 2005.

Swiss International Air Lines was born in 2002 from the remains of bankrupt Swissair and the regional carrier Crossair.

Lufthansa initially bought an 11 per cent stake in Swiss in March 2005 and increased this share to 49 per cent in 2006 once regulatory approval had been granted. It took over all the shares in July 2007.

swissinfo with agencies

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