17 AUG 2018: Congratulations to Air Canada’s chief operating officer Ben Smith, who has been named the new CEO of Air France-KLM. The longtime No. 2 at Air Canada will be the first non-French national to helm the Franco-Dutch airline.

Smith will take charge over by Sept. 30, replacing former Air France CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac, who quit more than three months ago when staff turned down his offer of a pay deal aimed at halting a wave of strikes.

Smith, who has acted as chief negotiator during labour talks for Air Canada’s low-cost Rouge unit, will come on board amidst growing labour turmoil on the tarmac in Europe and will have his hands full having to cut costs and improve operations while dealing with resentful unions who have in the past even resorted to violence..

In 2015, Air France workers protesting job cuts stormed offices near Charles de Gaulle Airport, ripping the shirts off two managers as they jumped a fence to escape. Janaillac staked his job on a staff vote on his plans — and lost.

“I’m sure he has an idea of the magnitude of the challenge,” said Chris Tarry, a UK based aviation consultant. “Would I book a long-haul flight on Air France? It’s a question, because there’s a risk they’ll be on strike.”

Meanwhile (before the airline’s board met to select a new CEO) the unions said recruiting a foreign boss was “inconceivable.”

Labour groups will meet Aug. 27 to decide their next steps in a long-running dispute over pay that has led to 15 days of strikes and lost flights this year. The unions said they wanted “a responsible leader” steeped in the French model of workplace relations, as well as Air France-KLM’s position versus European competitors.

Vincent Salles, union official at CGT-Air France union, said Friday on France Info radio that unions fear Smith’s mission is to implement plans that would “deteriorate working conditions and wages.”

Unions also have expressed concerns that he would tend to expand the company’s low cost subsidiaries instead of developing Air France’s main brand.

Nine unions objected to the appointment of a foreigner in the name of “the defence of our national airline’s interests,” in a joint statement issued before the board decision.

Pilots at Air France, Brussels Airlines and Ryanair have all staged work stoppages in recent months.

Smith was named CEO at a board meeting Thursday.

He said he is “well aware of the competitive challenges” the group is facing.

“I am convinced that the airlines’ teams have all the strengths to succeed in the global airline market,” he said in an Air France-KLM statement.

Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Smith’s arrival was an “opportunity” for Air France-KLM and expressed his confidence in the new CEO’s ability to “re-establish social dialogue.” The French state holds a 14.3 percent stake in the company.