Lufthansa CEO Spohr gets contract extension

FRANKFURT – German airline Lufthansa has extended the contract of CEO Carsten Spohr, who has led the airline through an expansion of its budget arm Eurowings and the response to the 2015 crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 that killed 150 people.

The board of directors said in a statement that Spohr’s contract would be extended through 2023. Spohr, 51, became CEO in May 2014.

Less than a year into the job he had to deal with the aftermath of the Germanwings crash. Investigators said copilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed the plane in mountains in southern France.

Spohr then also faced a series of employee strikes.

Lufthansa has expanded its low-cost services as it copes with competition from state-backed airlines in the Persian Gulf region and budget airlines in Europe.