Air France-KLM may name its new chief executive during a board meeting on Thursday, French newspaper Liberation reported, tipping Air Canada's chief operating officer Benjamin Smith as the winning candidate. The Franco-Dutch airline has been searching for a new boss since Jean-Marc Janaillac resigned in May, having gambled his job on getting Air France staff to accept a new pay deal after months of strikes.
The nomination of a Canadian to lead Air France-KLM would be unprecedented since the two operators merged in 2004 to create what was then Europe's biggest airline.
The group has previously favoured French CEOs.
Air France-KLM told AFP on Wednesday that the nomination process was ongoing and "nothing has been decided for the moment".
Smith notably led labour negotiations with pilots' and flight attendants' unions ahead of the launch of low-cost operator Air Canada Rouge, signing ten-year agreements with both of them. Such experience might come in useful at Air France-KLM, which has suffered months of disruptive and costly strikes by French staff demanding better salaries.
Janaillac had offered a seven-percent pay rise over four years, saying he would quit if it was rejected - only for 55 percent of staff to vote down the offer.
Comments
Comments are closed.