Star Alliance has appointed United Airlines executive Mark Schwab as its new CEO.
Schwab most recently served as senior vice president for alliances at United, a Star Alliance member. He replaces Jaan Albrecht, who was appointed CEO of Austrian Airlines in November.
“With Mark Schwab we have secured an internationally renowned airline executive, who has all the qualifications required to lead our alliance into the next chapter of its success story,” said Rob Fyfe, chief executive of Air New Zealand and chairman of the Star Alliance chief executive board.
A native of the US, Schwab has spent most of his career overseas, starting with Pan American World Airways in Rio de Janeiro in 1975. He has also worked for US Airways and American Airlines.
Headquartered in Frankfurt, the 28-member Star Alliance bills itself as “the world’s most experience airline alliance.”
