Air Dolomiti, the Italian subsidiary of German carrier Lufthansa, will appoint a new CEO on January 1st, 2022. Steffen Harbarth has been chosen for the position. Mr Harbarth has almost 25 years of experience at Lufthansa and is presently a Managing Director at Lufthansa CityLine. Let's take a closer look at Air Dolomiti's new CEO.

Air Dolomiti appoints new CEO

Steffen Harbarth is to take over as the new CEO of Air Dolomiti next year. The airline announced a number of executive changes today, with Mr Harbarth set to begin his new role on January 1st, 2022.

Ola Hansson, Lufthansa Chief Operating Officer, said,

"I am very pleased Steffen Harbarth will be our new Air Dolomiti CEO. As one of Lufthansa Group‘s strategically important markets, Italy and the further development of Air Dolomiti is of major importance."

Harbarth has been a member of Lufthansa CityLine's Executive Board since January 1st, 2019. With around 25 years of experience working at Lufthansa, Harbarth 'has held several management positions within the Lufthansa Group,' including Vice President Sales of Lufthansa Group in Asia-Pacific.

Steffen Harbarth will take over as CEO on January 1st, 2022. Photo: Air Dolomiti

More recently, 'at Lufthansa's Munich hub he was responsible for the commercial management and marketing processes of Lufthansa Hub Airlines.' After this, Harbarth took over as one of two managing directors at Lufthansa CityLine. He has held this position for close to three years.

Harbarth began his career with Lufthansa in Frankfurt in 1996, working in pricing and revenue management. Before this, he obtained his Diploma in Business Management from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich in 1994.

Ola Hansson added,

"Steffen Harbarth is the perfect choice for this new challenge given his considerable experience in commercial airline management and as Managing Director responsible for operational processes and Accountable Manager at Lufthansa CityLine."

Interim CEO until next year

Jörg Eberhart, Air Dolomiti's incumbent CEO, was recently appointed as Head of Strategy & Organizational Development at the Lufthansa Group. He will leave his position as CEO of Air Dolomiti on October 1st to begin his new role.

Air Dolomiti Embraer Getty
Photo: Getty Images

As such, Air Dolomiti has appointed Captain Alberto Casamatti, Director General Operations & Accountable Manager, as its interim CEO until Harbarth takes over next year. Casamatti will become interim CEO for three months.

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Air Dolomiti - Lufthansa's Italian arm

Air Dolomiti is an Italian regional airline wholly owned by Lufthansa Group. The airline was founded in 1989 and was eventually taken over completely by Lufthansa in 2003. It operates a small network of regional routes across Italy, Germany and Austria.

Air Dolomiti
Air Dolomiti is expanding its network with two Swedish destinations. Photo: Jan Johansen via Flickr

However, the airline is expanding this year with the addition of two new Swedish destinations - Ronneby and Kalmar. Flights will commence on September 19th out of its focus city in Frankfurt, Germany. The service will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays, stopping first at Kalmar before continuing to Ronneby.

Air Dolomiti is an all-Embraer airline with its fleet of 15 ERJ 190-200s. According to ch-aviation, the airline has previously operated 10 ATR42-500s and 13 ATR72-500s amongst other planes.

Have you ever flown with Air Dolomiti before? How did you find your experience? Feel free to share your experience in the comments.