Airbus’s new commercial aircraft chief, Lars Wagner, will join the airframer in November before taking up the position full-time at the beginning of next year.

Wagner – the head of MTU Aero Engines – is to succeed Christian Scherer, who is stepping down after more than four decades at Airbus.

Scherer will remain in his post until 31 December to ensure a smooth transition.

FlightGlobal understands that Scherer had been poised to retire from Airbus two years ago, having served in several executive roles, but agreed to lead the key commercial aircraft division after a decision to separate it from the responsibilities of chief executive Guillaume Faury.

Scherer originally joined Airbus – then Airbus Industrie – in 1984, as a commercial contracts manager.

Over the course of his career he has taken up senior positions in the leasing market and commercial businesses, before being appointed as head of strategy and future programmes.

Scherer also held roles in Airbus’s Defence and Space division, led the ATR turboprop venture, and headed the Airbus Group International arm.

Successor Wagner has led MTU Aero Engines since January 2023, having joined in 2015 and served as chief operating officer and executive vice-president in charge of OEM operations.

Wagner had previously worked at Airbus in management posts at key sites including Hamburg, Bremen and Toulouse.

He will, in turn, be succeeded by Johannes Bussmann, who will be appointed to the MTU executive board on 15 July.

Bussmann formerly headed Lufthansa Technik and is currently the chief of Munich-based technology testing firm TUV SUD.

He will become MTU Aero Engines chief executive on 1 September and, after a transition period, Wagner will leave on 31 October.