Lufthansa Group restructuring to impact SWISS operations

Lufthansa faces reorganisation of the Group - Swiss emphasises its own strength Keystone-SDA

The Lufthansa Group has planned a comprehensive reorganisation of its corporate structure. According to a media report, the head office in Frankfurt is to take on more responsibilities from the beginning of 2026, while the individual subsidiaries such as SWISS are to relinquish power.

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In future, centralised “Group Function Boards” will decide on finance, human resources, technology and the major hubs, according to a report in the German newspaper Handelsblatt on Monday. According to the report, the brands would primarily retain responsibility for products on board, such as catering.

Areas such as network planning, sales and frequent flyer programmes would be bundled at Group headquarters. The aim is to make passengers more satisfied, increase profitability and organise interfaces more efficiently.

The reorganisation would be particularly important for SWISS: the airline is considered a central component of the Group and makes a significant contribution to its profits.

Decision in September

In a statement to the news agency AWP, SWISS emphasised that work on the new structure is still ongoing. The decisive factor is that Swiss “remains a strong airline” and can continue to decide on its offering. The company will be represented on all relevant committees and will play an active role, it said.

A final decision on the future distribution of responsibilities is expected in September. It will then also be decided what consequences the reorganisation will have for the distribution of responsibilities among managers below the Group Executive Board.

SWISS pointed to the advantages of the previous co-operation within the Group, for example in network planning or in the development of the new long-haul cabin. Thanks to synergies, the airline will be able to invest around CHF1 billion ($1.25 billion) annually – a volume that would hardly be possible on its own, it said. “SWISS needs the Lufthansa Group – and the Lufthansa Group needs SWISS,” explained a spokesperson.

In addition to SWISS, the Lufthansa Group includes the airlines Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels, Discover, ITA Airways, CityLine, City Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Eurowings and the holiday airline Edelweiss Air.

Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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