Air France Names Benjamin Smith CEO

(RTTNews) - Air France-KLM Thursday said it has appointed Benjamin Smith as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Benjamin Smith recently was Air Canada's President Airlines and Chief Operating Officer. Benjamin Smith will take up his duties at Air France-KLM on September 30, 2018.

Smith will take over executive management of the Air-France-KLM Group and will establish its organizational structure. He will be in charge as a priority to revitalize Air France, to give a new strategic impulse to the Group and to work on a new leadership approach with all Air France-KLM's teams.

Anne-Marie Couderc said, "The arrival of Benjamin Smith is excellent news for the Group. Benjamin is a world-renowned leader in the airline sector who successfully transformed Air Canada. As a man who prefers dialogue, he developed and implemented the historical long term win-win agreements with the airline's social partners for the benefit of Air Canada's teams, the airline and all other stakeholders."

Air France's previous CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac had resigned in May after a majority of Air France employees at the strike-hit airline rejected a new pay deal.

The ongoing dispute has already resulted in 15 days of strikes, with which the company reportedly has lost up to 400 million euros or $470.68 million.

Meanwhile, reports say that unions at Air France-KLM are campaigning against the appointment of Smith on the grounds that he would undermine French sovereignty as he is a Canadian.

"Other countries and governments show fierce protectionism when it comes to their airlines. How ... could we allow Air France to fall into foreign hands?" the unions said in the statement.