Max Kownatzki assumes CEO role at Eurowings

Germany

Former SunExpress chief takes the helm of Germany’s largest leisure airline

Eurowings has a new chief executive officer. On Monday, Max Kownatzki officially took over as CEO of Germany’s largest leisure airline. The 53-year-old succeeds Jens Bischof, who stepped down from the role at the end of 2025 at his own request. Kownatzki joins Eurowings from SunExpress, the joint venture of Lufthansa Group and Turkish Airlines, where he most recently served as CEO.

Track record of growth and crisis management

During his tenure at SunExpress, Kownatzki steered the airline through the Covid crisis and subsequently led it onto a strong growth path. Under his leadership, the fleet was expanded to more than 85 aircraft, accompanied by record financial results. The period is widely seen as one of consolidation followed by renewed expansion for the German-Turkish carrier.

First day at Cologne/Bonn headquarters

Kownatzki began his first day at Eurowings with a welcome event at the airline’s headquarters at Cologne/Bonn Airport. He was officially received by fellow managing directors Kai Duve and Edi Wolfensberger and used the occasion to meet employees, reconnect with long-standing colleagues and engage in direct dialogue across the organisation.

“What Eurowings has built over the past few years deserves the utmost respect,” Kownatzki said. “Today, Eurowings stands for impressive customer service and a strong value-for-money offer – all while achieving sustainable economic success. I very much look forward to shaping the next phase of Eurowings’ success story together with this great team.”

Deep roots in the Eurowings organisation

For Kownatzki, the airline is familiar ground. In 2015, he co-founded Eurowings Europe and served as chief commercial officer before taking on the role of senior vice president for business development at Eurowings. Earlier in his career, he worked at strategy consulting firm Oliver Wyman, where he advised international airlines on alliances and commercial strategy and became a senior partner. He later held the position of chief strategy officer at Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas Airways.

In 2017, Kownatzki joined Lufthansa Group, assuming responsibility for network planning and strategic alliances for the group’s hub airlines, and became a member of the supervisory board of Air Dolomiti. He served as CEO of SunExpress from April 2020 until his move back to Eurowings.

International background

Max Kownatzki is German-American and holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen. He is a licensed commercial pilot and father of two children.