Austrian Airlines is getting a new Chief Operating Officer: Stefan-Kenan Scheib, currently Head of Flight Operations at SWISS, will join the Austrian Airlines Executive Board as COO on 15 September, 2025. This was decided by the Austrian Airlines Supervisory Board. Stefan-Kenan Scheib follows Francesco Sciortino, who took on a new role on 1 September as Hub Manager Frankfurt & Accountable Manager Lufthansa Airlines on the Lufthansa Airlines Executive Board.

Stefan began his career in aviation in 1999 as a first officer on Airbus 320 at Lufthansa Airlines. In 2006, he moved to Germanwings as captain on Airbus 320. He also took on management roles in the operations department at Germanwings, for example as Head of Flight Safety, Crew Training, and later the entire Flight Operations division. In 2017, he became Head of the Pilot School Bremen of Lufthansa Aviation Training (LAT) and in 2018, he took over the overall management of all LAT Pilot Schools. At the same time, he completed an MBA degree at the Hochschule Koblenz.

Since July 2021, Stefan-Kenan Scheib has been Head of Flight Operations at SWISS, where he is responsible for all flight operations-related matters at the Swiss flag carrier, which is also a member of the Lufthansa Group.

As of 15 September, the Austrian Airlines Executive Board will therefore consist of Annette Mann as CEO and Stefan-Kenan Scheib as COO.

Division of responsibilities within the Executive Board Team
Annette Mann will continue to be responsible for Business Development, including Public Affairs, Brand & Communication, Legal & Compliance, Network Planning, Finance, Human Relations, Customer Experience & Hospitality, and Sales Austria & Slovakia.

Stefan-Kenan Scheib will be responsible for all operational departments, including Flight Operations, Cabin Operations, Ground Operations, Flight Safety, Crew Training, Operations Planning & Steering, Technical Division, and IT.

“By appointing Stefan-Kenan Scheib as COO, Austrian Airlines gains a proven expert in the field of operations. Austrian has achieved top performance in terms of punctuality and reliability, especially in recent years. I am convinced that Stefan-Kenan Scheib will continue this outstanding performance. I wish him all the best and every success”, says Till Streichert, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Austrian Airlines and Chief Financial Officer of Lufthansa AG.

Austrian Airlines CEO Annette Mann adds: “I am delighted that we have been able to fill the role of our COO so quickly. Once again, I would like to thank Francesco Sciortino, who has taken our company’s operations to new heights over the past four and a half years. At the same time, I am now looking forward to working with Stefan-Kenan Scheib as a new member of the Austrian Airlines Executive Board team.”