Undercover boss! Lufthansa CEO works as economy and business class cabin crew on a flight – and finds the experience ‘challenging’

• CEO Jens Ritter worked as cabin crew in both business class and economy class
• He said his time as crew was ‘about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes’
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Lufthansa’s cabin crew welcomed a new team member earlier this month – but he wasn’t a standard new hire.

The German airline’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jens Ritter, worked as cabin crew in both business class and economy class on flights heading between Riyadh, Bahrain and Frankfurt.

Ritter, who has been running the airline since April 2022, opened up about the ‘challenging’ experience on LinkedIn, sharing pictures of himself in traditional crew uniform.

One image shows him serving a passenger a beverage, while in another, he’s pushing the flight attendants’ drinks trolley.

He said that his time as crew was ‘about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes’ and described it as an ‘enriching and a powerful experience’. 

Lufthansa’s CEO Jens Ritter worked as cabin crew in both business class and economy class earlier this month 

‘I was astonished how much I learned in these few hours,’ he said, adding that the decisions he makes in the Lufthansa offices going forward will be ‘different’ now that he’s seen what the crew do during their time on board. 

‘Sometimes, you need to change perspectives in order to gain new insights,’ he said.

He continued: ‘I was amazed by how much there is to organie, especially, if something doesn’t go as planned – for example, the meals offered on the menu cards were not exactly the meals loaded on board.’ Ritter noted that they have since fixed this issue internally. 

The experience of working on an overnight flight was particularly challenging for the airline boss. Ritter, who started out his aviation career as an Airbus A320 pilot in 2000, says he’d previously ‘thought he knew about the challenges a flight during the night entails’ thanks to his background as a pilot, but admits he had a lot to learn. 

Praising the overnight crew, he explains: ‘To be present and attentive and charming – when the biological clock just tells you to sleep – was something entirely different.’

Ritter, who has been running the airline since April 2022, opened up about the ‘challenging’ experience on LinkedIn

Ritter, pictured above with the Lufthansa team, says the decisions he makes in the Lufthansa offices going forward will be ‘different’ now that he’s seen what the crew do on board

Ritter can be seen serving a beverage to a passenger during the flight 

The father-of-three says that he ‘enjoyed every moment’ spent looking after the passengers, adding: ‘It was so interesting to address the guests’ wishes individually, to deal with the different energy everyone has.’

He added that the crew ‘was terrific and welcomed [him] into their team right away’. 

Ritter’s experience echoes the popular American reality TV series ‘Undercover Boss’, which sees senior company executives anonymously working within a department of their firm to investigate its inner workings.

His LinkedIn post has garnered more than 5,000 likes, with LinkedIn user Christopher Babayode wondering what the airline executive would ‘like to see improved’ to enable his crews to better excel at their roles. 

Ritter replied: ‘On the one hand it is all about stability and reliability. Because I think our crews already do a great job. 

‘However, the aviation industry suffers from lack of staff, broken supply chains, lack of aircraft and many other problems. If we fix this – their job would be a lot easier.’

He added: ‘On the other hand I think that everyone likes working if they feel being seen and appreciated and psychologically safe. This is something else I am trying hard to improve!’ 

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