Max Kownatzki | Chief Executive Officer
SunExpress Airlines

Max Kownatzki, Chief Executive Officer, SunExpress Airlines

Max Kownatzki started his career in 2002 at the strategy consultancy Oliver Wyman in New York and Munich. Until 2013, he advised clients from the airline industry as Senior Partner with a special focus on strategic alliances and commercial airline topics. In 2013, he was appointed Chief Strategy Officer of the Australian Jetstar Group, a subsidiary of Qantas Airways. Two years later, in 2015 he joined Lufthansa as Chief Commercial Officer of Eurowings Europe and then headed the establishment and development of the company within the Wings Project. Subsequently, as Senior Vice President he was in charge of business development at Eurowings. From 2017 to 2020, he was accountable for network planning and strategic alliances of the hub airlines Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines and also a member of the Supervisory Board of Air Dolomiti. He has been the CEO of SunExpress since April 2020.   Max Kownatzki studied business administration in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and subsequently obtained his doctoral degree. He holds a commercial pilot’s license.

Appearances:



World Aviation Festival Day 2 @ 12:50

CEO Panel: Strategy, Competition & Innovation in Aviation

  • Adapting business models in a demand-heavy, capacity-restricted environment.
  • AI-driven transformation—how will AI shape the future of airline strategies?
  • How can European airlines stay competitive against MENA carriers with greater airspace access?
  • In what way are airline alliances evolving and what types of future partnerships should we expect to see?

World Aviation Festival Day 2 @ 12:50

CEO Panel: Strategy, Competition & Innovation in Aviation

  • Adapting business models in a demand-heavy, capacity-restricted environment.
  • AI-driven transformation—how will AI shape the future of airline strategies?
  • How can European airlines stay competitive against MENA carriers with greater airspace access?
  • In what way are airline alliances evolving and what types of future partnerships should we expect to see?
last published: 29/Apr/25 13:35 GMT

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