MIT Sloan Management Review Article on How Lufthansa Shapes Data-Driven Transformation Leaders

Up in the air, a modern plane generates 1 terabyte of data every 24 hours of flight. For airlines like the Lufthansa Group, this data can be used to create valuable business outcomes, from improved operational efficiency to higher customer satisfaction. On top of this rich data set, Lufthansa has invested substantially in deploying artificial intelligence technologies, improving data quality processes, and hiring data engineers and data scientists. However, in 2023, it recognized that it had to do more to become a truly data-driven company. The industry incumbent faced not a mechanical problem but a human one: Organizational resistance to change stood in the way of transformational efforts. Lufthansa’s data experts felt like they were operating as lone wolves, without the business support and use cases that would get the whole company behind its transformation goals.

About the Author

Christian Haude is senior data strategy and innovation manager at Lufthansa Group. Ivo Blohm is associate professor for information systems and business analytics at the Institute of Information Systems and Digital Business at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Xavier Lagardère is managing director of the Lufthansa Innovation Hub and head of data and innovation at Lufthansa Group.

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