Large corporations have a long history of CEOs picking up a few average employee shifts for the cameras. When he took over the role, new Starbucks (SBUX) -) head Laxman Narasimhan committed to working half a shift as a barista once a month.
Uber (UBER) -) CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has also recently tried his hand at picking up passengers and Uber Eats deliveries. While the stated goal is always to "connect" and show that one understands the challenges faced by one's employees, commenters often joke about the performative nature behind the effort.
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In the airline world, Lufthansa (DLAKF) -) CEO Jens Ritter recently made a similar move by "picking up a few shifts" as a flight attendant on the German carrier's long-haul flights to the Middle East.
LinkedIn (Jens Ritter)
'What a ride!' Lufthansa CEO says in viral LinkedIn post
"This week, I accompanied our Lufthansa Airlines flight crew heading to Riyadh and Bahrain as an 'additional crew member,'" Ritter wrote in a LinkedIn post. "What a ride! [...] I was amazed by how much there is to organize, especially, if something doesn't go as planned – for example the meals offered on the menu cards were not exactly the meals loaded on board."
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The aforementioned challenge included managing the drinks cart during the night shift. Ritter mentioned that his experience as a pilot did not necessarily translate to working face-to-face with consumers and remaining "attentive and charming" even when one is tired (he picked up an overnight shift.)
"I used to fly as a pilot and so I thought I knew about the challenges a flight during the night entails. But to be present and attentive and charming – when the biological clock just tells you to sleep – was something entirely different," Ritter wrote. "The crew was terrific and welcomed me into their team right away."
Starting out as a Lufthansa pilot flying an Airbus (EADSF) -) jet A320 plane in the 1990s, Ritter moved on to longer flights and eventually moved up to executive roles in low-cost Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings and Austrian Airlines before taking over as head of Lufthansa in April 2022.
Business class on the way there, economy on the way back
The post is accompanied by photos of Ritter smiling in the cabin, pouring a cup of coffee to a passenger and posing back home in the Frankfurt airport. For the Frankfurt-Riyadh flight, Ritter made his secret appearance in business class on the way there and in economy on the way back to Germany.
"I enjoyed every moment!" Ritter wrote in the post. "I was astonished how much I learned in these few hours. Deciding things in the office will be different after really feeling the decisions on board."
The post received a mostly positive response around Ritter trying to integrate into his new role as head of the second-biggest airline in Europe although some were tongue-in-cheek.
"Next a shift at MUC Station?" Michael Wenning wrote in reference to the train station taking travelers to the Munich airport that is habitually crowded and messy.
