This seems to be becoming a trend, with airline drivers becoming cabin crew. Most recent example: Jens Ritter, CEO of Lufthansa, as host.
After Marjane Rentel earlier showed herself putting her hands on her blue sleeves, Jens Ritter, the boss of Lufthansa, is now leading his company from the workroom. The head of the German national airline served as an additional flight attendant on the way to Riyadh and Bahrain. It served Business Class passengers en route to Riyadh and upgraded to Economy Class on the overnight return flight to Frankfurt.
Ritter shares on LinkedIn how his journey opened his eyes to the challenges employees face on board. Pictures show Ritter posing with the crew, making drinks and serving customers in economy class. According to his LinkedIn post, he learned a lot from this experience in another part of Lufthansa: “It was very interesting to cater to the wishes of the guests individually (…) I have flown as a pilot before and I thought I knew the challenges of the company.” night flight. But being present, alert, and observant—while your biological clock was telling you to sleep—was something entirely different. The team was great and welcomed me right away…”
While some may see the move as a public relations stunt, Ritter said he intends to address the problems he has encountered. When asked about specific problems, he indicated that he would look for a solution to the mismatch of the menus with the food served.
Not the first
Ritter isn’t the first CEO seen at the booth in recent months. In May, for example, KLM CEO Marjan Rintel was seen serving passengers on a flight between Los Angeles and Amsterdam. As with the CEO of Lufthansa, the public reacted mixedly to Rentel’s actions. Online, customers have expressed that these officials should focus on other aspects and that they are wasting their time. But others supported the idea, arguing that this is what good leadership is all about.
