Air Canada has appointed Anko Van der Werff as the incoming president and CEO, slated to assume the position in January. Van der Werff, the current president and CEO of Scandinavian Airlines, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the renowned Canadian company in its pursuit of goals and strategies. Prior to his current role, Van der Werff held executive positions at Avianca, Aeromexico, Qatar Airways, and KLM, as well as serving on boards in the aviation and business sectors.
Van der Werff replaces Michael Rousseau, who announced his retirement after a 19-year tenure with Air Canada, following controversy over an English-only condolence message regarding the fatal crash at New York’s LaGuardia airport. The incident, involving a collision between a fire truck and Air Canada Express Flight 8646, resulted in the loss of both pilots, one of whom was from Quebec.
Rousseau faced criticism for his linguistic choices, with a video message delivered primarily in English, prompting backlash from French-speaking Canadians and political figures. This incident was not the first time Rousseau had drawn scrutiny for his language skills, as earlier instances had also raised concerns. Despite expressing regret for the distraction caused by his language proficiency, Rousseau acknowledged his ongoing efforts to improve his French language proficiency.
Van der Werff’s selection followed a rigorous global search process by Air Canada, which emphasized the importance of French language proficiency among other criteria. As a native Dutch speaker, Van der Werff is capable of communicating in French in addition to his fluency in English and proficiency in Spanish, Italian, and Swedish. Air Canada’s website offers greetings from Van der Werff in both English and French versions, underscoring his commitment to serving Canadians in both official languages.