Karim Makhlouf | Chief Commercial Officer
Royal Jordanian Airlines

Karim Makhlouf doesn’t just lead – he redefines. Karim is not just an aviation executive – he’s a builder of bold ideas, a strategist with soul and a passionate architect of transformation. With 30 years of international experience in the aviation and tourism industry he has earned a reputation for transforming airlines. Since joining Royal Jordanian Airlines as CCO in 2021, Karim is the driving force behind the five-year growth and restructuring plan to modernize and transform the airline towards the new defined strategy to focus primarily on tourism into Jordan and becoming the carrier of choice for the entire Levant region. RJ achieved a proper turnaround in 2025 with a sustainable profit of 30 Million USD, for the first time in its 65 years history. His career spans a rich tapestry of global experience in West and East Europe, the Gulf and the Middle East. He started his career at the Lufthansa Group in Frankfurt in the areas of Strategy and Network, Revenuemanagement and was a founding member in the management team of Eurowings – the leisure and low-cost airline of Lufthansa. From there he rose at executive roles at Gulf Air, Saudi Gulf Airlines, Malev Hungarian Airlines, Sky Europe and TUI – each time focusing on turnaround and change management and bringing fresh vision and creative strategies to legacy systems or start up projects. Karim has over 30 years experience in aviation and tourism, out of which 18 years on C-level. He is a German native with Tunisian routes and a devoted husband and proud father of two.