Airline company SunExpress appoints new CEO

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Leisure airline SunExpress, a joint venture of Lufthansa Group and Turkish Airlines, on Wednesday appointed Dr. Max Kownatzki as its new CEO.

Kownatzki, who is currently senior vice president of Network & Partnership Management at Hub Airlines, an affiliate of Lufthansa Group, will take helm at one of the largest airlines between Germany and Turkey in April.

He will commute between company headquarters in Antalya and its German subsidiary in Frankfurt, according to a statement.

“We are delighted that we were able to win Kownatzki as CEO for SunExpress," said Chairman of the Board of Directors at SunExpress, Ilker Aycı.

A proven airline expert with an impressive strategic background, Kownatzki will continue the growth journey of SunExpress and position the airline as a strong brand in the intense European competitive environment, the statement said.

Kownatzki, 47, began his career in 2002 at the strategy consultancy Oliver Wyman in New York and Munich.

He studied business administration at St. Gallen, Switzerland, and subsequently completed his PhD. He has German and American citizenships and holds a commercial pilot’s license.

Since 2017, he was in charge of network planning and strategic alliances for Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian airlines.

Kownatzki will succeed Jens Bischof, who will become CEO of another airliner Eurowings.