The Lufthansa Group has announced the death of former executive committee chair Jurgen Weber, who is believed to have fundamentally restructured German operators and established them as a pioneer in airline partnerships.
Weber, who passed away at the age of 83, steadily rose in the aircraft maintenance and technology sector in 1991, and rose to Luftanza's top position.
He launched a tough restructuring plan to rescue a company that had suffered heavy losses and sought to establish a competitive edge through globalization.
Lufthansa reached a comprehensive agreement with United Airlines in 1993. This is a component of the expanded partnership strategy to Air Canada, SAS and Thai Airways, the first members of a new family named Star Alliance.
Weber oversaw the evolution of Luftanza as a group of subsidiaries, each specializing in a particular business, and its emergence as a privatized air carrier. The company began trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in October 1997, just five months after the Star Alliance was established.
He led the company through economic turbulence following the events of September 11, 2001, and signed the first agreement for the Airbus A380 career.
“The Luftansa we know today would be unthinkable without Jurgen Weber,” says Karl Ludwig Klee, chairman of the Committee of Supervisors.
“He shaped and molded the company. He understood the unified power of air travel. The establishment of the Star Alliance and the expansion of Frankfurt Airport are primarily his achievements.”
Weber moved to the Supervisory Board in 2003 and was successful as Wolfgang Maylouver's CEO. He served as chairman of the Oversight Committee until 2013, and was later appointed honorary chairman.
The current Chief of Carsten Spohr said Weber is known as “Mr. Lufthansa,” adding:
“Unlikely, Jurgen Weber embodied the Lufthansa update during the restructuring and privatization of the 1990s.
“At Luftansa, Jurgen Weber is grateful for his outstanding service to the Luftansa Group.”
