Thoralf Wagner named new Head of Technical Division at SWISS
Thoralf Wagner will become SWISS’s new Head of Technical Fleet Management as of 1 June 2026. In his new function, Wagner will be responsible for the technical oversight of the SWISS fleet, including its maintenance, technical development and the compliance with all aviation regulatory requirements. He succeeds Claus Bauer, who has taken up a new position within the Lufthansa Group.
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has appointed Thoralf Wagner as the new head of its technical division. He will assume his new role on 1 June 2026. As Head of Technical Fleet Management, he will lead the department responsible for the maintenance and repair of the SWISS fleet, for ensuring compliance with all aviation regulatory requirements and for the fleet’s ongoing technical development and modernization. The SWISS technical division comprises some 1,000 employees.
Wagner brings more than twenty years of experience in the aviation industry. Since 2021 he has served as Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa Technik Budapest Ltd., where he has successfully further developed the site with its more than 400 employees. He heads a maintenance facility for Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 fleets where both extensive hangar work and maintenance during ongoing flight operations are performed.
Prior to his role in Budapest, Wagner held various management positions at Lufthansa Technik. Among other roles, he served as Senior Director Component Logistics, Transportation and Sales at Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services, where he was responsible for an international logistics network across several global locations. In addition, he held strategic positions and led transformation and reorganization programs within Lufthansa Technik.
Oliver Buchhofer, Chief Operating Officer of SWISS, says: “The technical division forms the backbone of stable flight operations. In Thoralf Wagner we are gaining a leader who is thoroughly familiar both with the operational realities of aircraft maintenance and with managing international maintenance networks. His experience will help us further strengthen the technical reliability of our fleet and successfully implement our upcoming fleet modernization programs.”
Thoralf Wagner studied Transport Engineering with a focus on Aviation at the Technical University of Dresden. During his studies he already worked for SWISS and Crossair as a student and diploma candidate.