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(Bloomberg) — SAS AB Chief Executive Officer Anko van der Werff is emerging as a frontrunner to lead Air Canada, according to people familiar with the matter, succeeding Michael Rousseau, who said in March he’d leave after a public outcry over the his omission to speak French in a corporate video.
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Van der Werff has led the Scandinavian airline for about five years, helping the carrier emerge from bankruptcy and restoring operations after the pandemic. He also led the Colombian airline Avianca between 2019 and 2021, and held senior roles at Grupo Aeromexico, Qatar Airways and Air France-KLM.
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Rousseau faced public criticism, including from Canada’s government, in the wake of a video he recorded following an aircraft accident that killed two Air Canada pilots at LaGuardia Airport in New York. In the video, Rousseau spoke almost entirely in English, sparking outrage in French-speaking Quebec. The airline, based in the Montreal region, is legally required to provide services in both official languages.
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Air Canada and van der Werff did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while SAS declined to comment. The people cautioned that a decision isn’t final and that the airline’s board might pick somebody else.
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A Dutch national, Van der Werff speaks Dutch, English and Spanish, and has a basic understanding of Italian, Swedish and French, according to a 2021 release from the airline. SAS is partially owned by Air France-KLM, and the company just announced major investment in its fleet upgrade this week with new Airbus SE widebody jets.
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Air Canada’s new leader appointment will follow a challenging year for the airline. The company suspended its financial outlook in May amid soaring jet fuel prices due to the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The next CEO will also have to win over investors — the stock price is still only half of what it was before the Covid pandemic.
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On the positive side, the airline is in the process of modernizing its fleet, and introduced a new cabin design for its aircraft in June.
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—With assistance from Leen Al-Rashdan.
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(Updates with response from SAS)
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