Martin Knuchel has been appointed as SWISS’s new Head of Cabin Crew. Knuchel currently serves as Head of Crisis, Emergency and Business Continuity Management for the Lufthansa Group Airlines and will assume his new duties on July 1 2023.
In his new capacity with Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), Knuchel will be in overall charge of approximately 3,600 SWISS cabin crew members, the largest personnel group within the company, together with his Cabin Crew Management team. He will report directly to CEO Dieter Vranckx.
“Leading our cabin crew corps is a vital function within our SWISS organization,” says Vranckx.
“With his long and broad experience both in cabin management and in other areas of our company, Martin Knuchel is the ideal appointee to this demanding position. The key negotiations on a new collective labour agreement and the thousand new cabin crew members that we are recruiting this year alone are just two of the major issues on the current agenda. And I wish Martin Knuchel every success and satisfaction in his new capacity,” adds the CEO.
Knuchel, who is 57, presently serves as Head of Crisis, Emergency and Business Continuity Management for the Lufthansa Group Airlines. Prior to that appointment, he held various positions, including cabin management functions, at both SWISS and Swissair.
He began his lengthy aviation career in 1995 when he joined Swissair as a cabin crew member. Knuchel still flies frequently as a SWISS maître de cabine.
He succeeds Reto Schmid, who has decided to take on a new professional challenge after seven years in the position.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Reto Schmid for all his work, service and commitment, and to wish him all the very best for the future,” adds Vranckx.
