Air France-KLM chief reappointed to lead Covid recovery

Air France-KLM chief executive Benjamin Smith was given a five-year extension on Thursday as the Franco-Dutch group seeks to recover from the aviation industry’s Covid-induced crisis.

The board also approved the appointment of Marjan Rintel, the head of Dutch rail firm NS, as the new head of KLM to replace Pieter Elbers, who had disagreements with Smith.

“These two decisions by the Board of Directors stabilise the governance of the Group at a key moment in its history,” Air France-KLM chairwoman Anne-Marie Couderc said in a statement.

The group has lost 10 billion euros ($11.2 billion) in the two years since the pandemic pummelled the aviation sector.

Smith, a 50-year-old Canadian, took up his post in September 2018 for a four-year term and will now lead the company until May 2027. His reappointment was decided earlier than scheduled.

Elbers’ mandate was supposed to end in 2023 but the group decided to replace him in January.

He sought more autonomy for Dutch airline KLM within the group, a vision that clashed with that of Smith, who wanted deeper integration with its French sister company.

Rintel, who worked at Air France-KLM in the past, will take over the job on July 1.

Air France-KLM has endured a turbulent two years, posting a loss of 7.1 billion euros in 2020 as travel was upended by the pandemic. The group reduced its losses last year to a still-painful 3.3 billion euros.

The group expects to see its activity return to pre-crisis levels only in 2024.

The highly-indebted company, which has cut thousands of jobs, said in February that it would need more capital strengthening measures totalling as much as four billion euros.

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