Heike Birlenbach
Swiss’s chief commercial officer Heike Birlenbach is to leave Lufthansa Group in September 2026 to pursue “new professional opportunities” outside the company.
Birlenbach has spent more than 36 years in various positions at Lufthansa Group and has been leading Swiss’s commercial operations since the start of 2024, which has included the launch of the carrier’s new long-haul Swiss Senses onboard cabins and seats.
Before joining Swiss, Birlenbach held leadership roles in Lufthansa Group offices in in London, Amsterdam, Milan and Munich, as well as at group HQ in Frankfurt.
Jens Fehlinger, CEO of Swiss, said that Birlenbach had made a “significant contribution” during her time at the airline.
“She has represented our premium ambition with great passion, driven important future topics such as Swiss Senses and the further development of our customer experience, and consistently brought in the perspective of our customers,” added Fehlinger.
Following Birlenbach’s departure, Swiss will not be appointing a new chief commercial officer as Lufthansa Group is restructuring the leadership teams at individual airlines — Fehlinger will directly oversee customer experience at Swiss under this change.