FRANKFURT, Germany — The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in France has heaped intense pressure on Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr, who in less than a year at the helm has had to grapple with weak earnings, labor unrest and tough competition from lower-cost carriers.
Analysts say he has made the correct moves, notably in his swift expressions of sympathy for the 149 victims and the relatives of those who died March 24. French officials say co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the pilot out of the cockpit and deliberately flew the Airbus A320 into a mountain in the French Alps.
They point to Lufthansa’s admission that Lubitz had told the airline during his training that he had been treated for serious depression as an example of owning up quickly to bad news.
“They are taking it absolutely seriously. They are not being anything other than completely cooperative with the authorities, and that’s a good start,” said Andrew Charlton, managing director of strategic consulting and government affairs firm Aviation Advocacy in Nyon, Switzerland.
Spohr, he added, has “checked all the boxes” in responding to the crash and treating the situation with “the gravitas it requires.”
Spohr, 48, is far from done with the grim ordeal. The investigation will take months. The crash has stained Lufthansa’s strong safety reputation.
German media, unions and government so far have not turned on Spohr. German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said discussions over any management culpability from knowing Lubitz’s history of depression are “unnecessary.”
