Lufthansa appoints Lorenza Maggio as Brussels Airlines CEO

Maggio succeeds Dorothea von Boxberg, who leaves Brussels Airlines on 31 August 2026 at her own request. In addition to leading Brussels Airlines, she will be Executive Board Representative to the European Commission.

Dieter Vranckx, chairman of the Board of Directors of SN Airholding and Lufthansa Group's chief commercial officer, said Maggio 'knows the industry and our group from various leadership positions at different companies'. She will lead Brussels Airlines, he said, 'as an integrated hub airline within the Lufthansa Group'. He said he was particularly pleased the group had appointed a successor 'from within our own ranks'.

Who Maggio is

Maggio is 48 and an Italian national. She has been a member of ITA Airways' Board of Directors since January 2025 as Chief Strategy and Integration Officer, responsible for the Italian carrier's integration into Lufthansa Group and for shaping its strategy. Before that she was Vice President Sales for the Lufthansa Group's network airlines in Europe outside their home markets, the Middle East and Africa. She previously led brand and customer strategy at Eurowings and was managing director of an LSG Group subsidiary.

A Yahoo report said Maggio was ITA Airways' chief commercial officer and would take over in January 2026. Lufthansa Group's announcement says she is chief strategy and integration officer and that the date of her move from Rome to Brussels will be determined shortly.

The airline she inherits

Lufthansa Group wholly owns Brussels Airlines. ETurboNews described the carrier as Belgium's national airline, Lufthansa Group's Africa specialist, a key Star Alliance hub in Western Europe and an important diplomatic airline connecting Brussels with Europe, Africa and North America. It reported that the airline serves 18 destinations in sub-Saharan Africa, with much of that network inherited from Sabena, and that it carried over 9.1 million passengers in 2025 and increased revenues above €1.6 billion while adjusted EBIT fell to €28 million.

Maggio also inherits several challenges. According to the same report, management has identified recurring nationwide Belgian strikes and demonstrations as one of the principal reasons for the decline in profits in 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. The airline itself was not involved in the labor disputes, but the disruptions forced flight cancellations. Fuel prices and geopolitical instability in the Middle East raised operating costs, and higher fuel expenses significantly affected first-quarter 2026 performance even though Lufthansa's fuel hedging program helped cushion the blow.

Brussels Airlines remains profitable, but margins are thin. The €28 million adjusted EBIT is less than 2% of revenue.

ITA integration backdrop

Lufthansa Group said on 12 May 2026 that it would exercise an option to raise its stake in ITA Airways from 41% to 90% for €325 million. The purchase needs clearance from the European Commission and the US Department of Justice and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027. Italy's Ministry of Economy and Finance would keep 10% initially, with Lufthansa able to buy that stake in 2028.

Integration work began earlier. Lufthansa Group first took a minority stake in ITA Airways in January 2025. FlightGlobal reported in February 2025 that the group would start by merging the two carriers' frequent flyer programmes.

What happens next

The Board of Directors of SN Airholding must approve Maggio's appointment before it takes effect. Lufthansa Group said the date of her move from Rome to Brussels will be determined shortly.