Air France-KLM's next CEO is going to be an Air Canada executive and French unions are furious

pulse

August 17, 2018 7:56 AM

Air France-KLM's board of directors has appointed Air Canada President and COO Benjamin Smith as its new CEO. However, French trade unions reacted angrily to the news of a foreign CEO being appointed to run Air France.

Prior to his appointment to the top job at Air France-KLM, Smith served as the President and COO of Air Canada.
Major French trade union issued a joint statement condemning the appointment.

The major trade unions representing Air France KLM staff issued a joint statement on Thursday to protest the appointment of Air Canada President and COO Benjamin Smith as Air France-KLM's new chief executive.

"Concerning the choice of new chief executive...the trade unions would like to state that it's inconceivable that the company Air France - which has been French since 1933 - would fall into the hands of a foreign director," the unions said in the statement.

Air France-KLM's board met on Aug. 16 to approve Smith's nomination as the company's next CEO.

Smith's appointment fills a major management void after former CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac quit in May when staff rejected his offer of a pay deal aimed at ending a wave of strikes that have so far cost the company 335 million euros ($381 million).

Known to speak French, Smith has a track record in dealing with unions and was the main negotiator in talks with pilot and cabin crew staff at Air Canada that resulted in a 10-year agreement in 2015.

The French state has a 14 percent stake in Air France-KLM, while Delta Airlines and China Eastern Airlines each hold 8.8 percent.

Government officials say President Emmanuel Macron is open to a non-French national leading the group for the first time.

Smith is expected to take up his new position no later than September 30.

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