Lufthansa names new chief executive

Frankfurt - Lufthansa, Germany's number one airline, named Carsten Spohr, currently head of its passenger business, to take over as its new chief executive in May.

"The supervisory board of Deutsche Lufthansa has appointed Carsten Spohr as the future chairman of the executive board and chief executive officer during a meeting" on Friday, the airline said in a statement.

The 47-year-old "will assume his new role effective May 1 2014."

The current CEO, Christoph Franz, 53, announced last September that he would not be available for an extension of his contract after it expires in May.

He is moving to Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche.