Lufthansa Group to reduce autonomy of subsidiary airlines from 2026
Lufthansa Group has announced that from 2026, its subsidiary airlines will lose some decision-making power as it looks to centralize some processes.
On September 12, 2025, Lufthansa Group revealed plans that will see changes to the organizational structure, processes, the financial management framework and cross-group collaboration.
The new approach to integration will mainly involve Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.
The company said that the changes will bring the group closer together in an effort to increase efficiency and profitability.
In the announcement, Lufthansa confirmed that each airline would “continue to make their own decisions about the customer experience of their guests”.
This would include the in-flight product, catering, lounges in the home markets, and passenger service.
The hub airlines will also remain responsible for the management of their respective flight operations and operational flight services.
Lufthansa Group said that it is in “areas that are less visible to passengers” that cooperation between airlines will become even more integrated, as is already the case in the area of loyalty.
“In the future, network management for short- and medium-haul flights of all hub airlines will also be steered group-wide. This will be done in close coordination with the airlines. This model has already been successfully established for ten years for the long-haul offerings,” a spokesperson for Lufthansa Group said.
They added: “This means that the steering of the entire commercial offering management will now be bundled under the responsibility of group-wide airline functions.”
How will the new process and structure work?
Cooperation within the group will in future be managed primarily via so-called ‘Group Function Boards’ which include representatives from both the airlines and the group functions.
“Chaired by the respective Group Executive Board member responsible, topics will be discussed, evaluated, and decided upon transparently in a collaborative manner,” explained the company.
There will be a total of four Group Function Boards: Hub Steering, Technology, HR, and Finance.
IT functions will be consolidated in the Technology, IT & Innovation division, which is led by Chief Technology Officer, Grazia Vittadini.
In addition, the digital units and competencies from Lufthansa Group’s ‘Digital Hangar’ will be move to the ‘Innovation & Tech Factory’ in a new, central role.
“This further development will create group-wide central digital expertise in the areas of operations, customer, commercial, and corporate,” the spokesperson for Lufthansa Group said.
The company plans to implement the changes on January 1, 2026.
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Lufthansa Group has announced that from 2026, its subsidiary airlines will lose some decision-making power as it looks…
The post Lufthansa Group to reduce autonomy of subsidiary airlines from 2026 appeared first on AeroTime.
