Brussels Airlines is set for a change at the top. On July 16, 2026, parent company Lufthansa Group announced the appointment of Lorenza Maggio as the airline's next Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Dorothea von Boxberg, who is leaving the company at her own request.
Von Boxberg will step down from her role on August 31, 2026. The exact date on which Maggio will take over has not yet been finalised, and the appointment remains subject to approval by the Board of Directors of SN Airholding, the holding company that sits above Brussels Airlines within the Lufthansa Group structure.
Maggio arrives with a strong pedigree inside the wider group and its Italian affiliate. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of ITA Airways since January 2025 and currently serves as the carrier's Chief Strategy and Integration Officer, a role at the centre of ITA's ongoing integration into the Lufthansa Group. Before that, she was Vice President Sales, overseeing sales for the Lufthansa Group's network airlines across Europe — excluding their home markets — as well as the Middle East and Africa.
“Lorenza Maggio is a highly accomplished and internationally experienced airline executive,” said Dieter Vranckx, Chief Commercial Officer of the Lufthansa Group, noting that she knows both the industry and the group well from various leadership positions.
The leadership change comes at a pivotal moment for Brussels Airlines. The Belgian flag carrier operates a mixed Airbus fleet built around the A320 family on its short- and medium-haul European network, complemented by widebodies on long-haul routes to Africa and North America. As one of Lufthansa Group's network carriers, Brussels Airlines has spent recent years working to strengthen profitability while deepening cooperation with its sister airlines.
Von Boxberg took the helm of Brussels Airlines in 2023 after a career that included a senior role as chief executive of Lufthansa Cargo. Her decision to depart at her own request hands the incoming CEO a carrier that has been navigating the same cost pressures — from fuel to labour to airport charges — reshaping the European airline landscape in 2026.
For Maggio, the move from ITA Airways to Brussels Airlines keeps her within the Lufthansa Group family while giving her a full airline to lead. Her background in sales and, more recently, in strategy and integration aligns with the group's broader push to run its multiple brands as a more tightly coordinated network.
Brussels Airlines and the Lufthansa Group have not yet detailed how the transition will be managed in the weeks between von Boxberg's departure at the end of August and Maggio's formal start. With board approval still pending, further specifics on timing are expected in the coming weeks.
Sources: AeroTime, Lufthansa Group. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. By Elena Vargas.
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