SEOUL, 4 June 2019: The International Air Transport Association announced at the weekend that Lufthansa Group chief executive officer, Carsten Spohr, has assumed his duties as chairman of the IATA Board of Governors.
The one-year term begins on the conclusion of the 75th IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul.
Spohr is the 78th chair of the IATA BoG. He has served on board since May 2014.
Spohr succeeds Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker, who will continue to serve on the BoG.
“I’m honoured and excited to take on this role at this important time for our industry. We face a number of challenges, including growing protectionism, high taxes and trade wars. Probably the greatest challenge of all is sustainability,” said Spohr.
“The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is a major achievement that will stabilize our carbon emissions from 2020. Now we must map out the path to achieving our much more ambitious 2050 goal — to cut net emissions to half 2005 levels.”
Spohr has been chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since 1 May 2014. In this role, he manages the Lufthansa Group comprising the business segments Network Airlines, Eurowings and Aviation Services, with around 135,000 employees worldwide.
IATA also announced that JetBlue Airways president and CEO Robin Hayes will serve as chairman of the BoG from June 2020, following Spohr’s term.
IATA (International Air Transport Association) represents some 290 airlines comprising 82% of global air traffic.
