• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, August 15, 2013

Lufthansa, the German airline, is reviewing its global media planning and buying account, a rep for the Frankfurt-based company confirmed Thursday.

Global ad spending has been estimated at $100 million, most of it placed outside the U.S. The company spent about $9 million on ads in the U.S. in 2012, according to Kantar. 

The incumbent on the account is Mindshare, which has held the assignment for more than a decade. The WPP agency successfully defended the account in 2010 after a review that also included Aegis Group’s Carat (now part of Dentsu) and Interpublic Group’s UM.

The account is led out of Mindshare’s Frankfurt office. The agency had no immediate comment on the review.

Word of the review comes just months after the company appointed a new head of marketing—Alexander Schlaubitz, who oversees all marketing activity, including advertising and brand management. Schlaubitz, who assumed the role in January, previously held positions at Publicis Ad Shop Leo Burnett, Facebook and Change Communications.

The review also comes in the wake of news that Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline, is spending billions to upgrade its planes. The company told the New York Times earlier this month that it is  investing $4 billion to improve its cabins, offer satellite-based Internet and upgrade its onboard entertainment system. More than a billion of the total is going into the design and installation of new business class seats.