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Daniel Riefer

PartnerMunich

Helps aviation, aerospace, and energy companies on strategy, operations, and decarbonization topics with a particular expertise on sustainable fuels and future air mobility

Daniel is a partner in McKinsey’s Munich office and a core member of our Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice. He coleads our sustainability in aviation and airline operations efforts.

Together with the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow coalition, Daniel has assessed options to scale sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and published reports on aviation decarbonization.

Examples of his recent client work include:

  • shaping an air cargo carrier’s SAF procurement strategy
  • optimizing the recruiting approach for a European legacy airline with a focus on transparency across the candidate journey
  • identifying options to improve crew and aircraft productivity for a European low-cost carrier
  • helping a major Asian airline in its end-to-end transformation and return to profitability
  • preparing an investor presentation for a future air mobility company to attract funding for R&D and growth
  • assessing financial implications of aircraft procurement alternatives for a major airline group
  • shaping the digital strategy of a global aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul provider

Before joining McKinsey, Daniel worked as a commercial airline pilot and management pilot at Lufthansa in Germany, qualified for both Airbus A320 Family and Boeing 747. During that time, he supported various projects at the Lufthansa Group—from SAFs to strategy and humanitarian air cargo logistics.

Published Work

How the aviation industry could help scale sustainable fuel production,” McKinsey & Company, July 2024

Next stop for Spanish tourism excellence: Sustainability,” McKinsey & Company, July 2023

Decarbonizing aviation: Executing on net-zero goals,” McKinsey & Company, June 2023

Travel Disruptors: Vista’s Thomas Flohr on business aviation as a subscription service,” McKinsey & Company, March 2023

Clean skies for tomorrow: Delivering on the global power-to-liquid ambition,” McKinsey & Company, August 2022

Decarbonizing the aviation sector: Making net zero aviation possible,” McKinsey & Company, July 2022

Opportunities for industry leaders as new travelers take to the skies,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022

How airlines can chart a path to zero-carbon flying,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020

Deploying Sustainable Aviation Fuels at Scale in India,” World Economic Forum, April 2021

Sustainable Aviation Fuels as a Pathway to Net-Zero Aviation,” World Economic Forum, November 2020

Education

Lufthansa Flight Training School in Bremen (Germany) and Phoenix, AZ (US)
ATPL

Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz
Dipl. Kaufmann (master of science)

HKUST (Hong Kong) and Columbia University (New York)
MBA