Air France-KLM appoints first foreign CEO over union objections

PARIS: Air France-KLM named Air Canada executive Benjamin Smith as its new boss on Thursday, opting for an outsider to steer the airline group through a fraught stand-off with unions at its French carrier.

Smith, until now the Canadian airline’s chief operating officer, will begin work as Air FranceKLM chief executive by the end of September, the company said in a statement.

His appointment, backed by the French government over union objections, fills a management void left by Jean-Marc Janaillac, who stepped down as chairman and CEO in May in the wake of protracted strikes and a staff vote against his final pay offer.

But the 46-year-old aviation and travel industry veteran will have his work cut out to raise productivity at Air France and narrow the gap with leaner European rivals such as British Airways and Lufthansa.

“I am well aware of the competitive challenges the Air FranceKLM Group is currently facing, and I am convinced that the airlines’ teams have all the strengths to succeed in the global airline market,” Smith said in the statement.

He becomes the first foreign boss in Air France’s 85-year history, just as it faces a resumption of industrial action that has already wiped 335 million euros (US$381 million) off first-half earnings.

The French government, which commands a 14.3 per cent stake in the airline and a larger share of voting rights, had indicated earlier on Thursday that it supported his hiring.

Workers’ representatives had roundly criticised the appointment of a non- French CEO, first reported in the domestic press, in a statement issued by nine major unions representing pilots, cabin crew and ground staff. — Reuters