Air Canada VP Ben Smith hired for the Air France - KLM CEO position

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Aug 17, 2018, 7:59 am

#121

ffsim

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Symmetre

I never saw eye-to-eye with Mr Smith, but I wish him well - providing he doesn't turn KL into AC 2.0.

Having interacted with Ben S exactly once, I’ll leave personal opinions aside; there are already enough of those in this thread justifying or criticizing his appointment. I’ll also assume that we’re not witnessing the early stages of a future case study for The Peter Principle.

And, @Symmetre, I’m not particularly picking on you — the bolded bit in your comment summarizes a lot of the concerns I’ve read, both here and elsewhere, that Ben’s accomplishments at AC could only be construed as negative from labour, passenger and product perspectives.

So, I ask this: take a look at AC’s stock performance over the past 2, 5 and even 10 years, and consider the labour peace that AC currently enjoys. Does anyone here really believe that the folks who hired Ben don’t want an AC 2.0? I dunno... if that’s what he manages to pull off at the end of his tenure, I’d have a hard time arguing against the evidence that he was the right person for the job.

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Aug 17, 2018, 8:13 am

#122

tcook052

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ffsim

Does anyone here really believe that the folks who hired Ben don’t want an AC 2.0?

Not me. Seems KL/AF hired Ben to transform and grow their company not remake it in another firms image. Just MHO and YMMV.

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Aug 17, 2018, 8:19 am

#123

ffsim

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Quote:

Originally Posted by tcook052

Not me. Seems KL/AF hired Ben to transform and grow their company not remake it in another firms image. Just MHO and YMMV.

To be clear, I didn’t interpret and nor intend to use “AC 2.0” to mean “a copy-and-paste of AC.” To me, “AC 2.0” implies a successful turnaround of an airline on the verge of failure / collapse / bankruptcy with incessant infighting, miserable employees and unhappy customers.

I don’t think AF / KL want to be remade into AC, and I don’t expect that’s why they hired Ben.

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Aug 17, 2018, 8:34 am

#124

dodo

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Quote:

Originally Posted by tracon

Can someone with talent pull up the length of time the last several CEO's have survived at AF.
The average is close to two years.

From WIki:

Ernest Roume : 1933-1935
Paul Tirard : 1935-1938
Bertrand Pujo : 1939-1944
Henri Desbruères : 1945-1948 (directeur général, pas de président à cette époque)
Max Hymans : 1948-1961
Joseph Roos : 1961-1967
Georges Galichon : 1967-1975
Pierre Giraudet : 1975-1984
Marceau Long : 1984-1987
Jacques Friedmann : 1987-1988
Bernard Attali : 1988-1993
Christian Blanc : 1993-1997
Jean-Cyril Spinetta : 1997-2009
Pierre-Henri Gourgeon: 2009-2011
Alexandre de Juniac: 2011-2013, puis président d'Air France-KLM

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Aug 17, 2018, 8:56 am

#125

YUL

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Quote:

Originally Posted by acysb87

Met Ben at Montreal in 2003,IIRC at a do. He took the time to listen to my requests and comments from a segment/regional customer.
I had been able to reach out to Ben over the last 15 years when I had comments and observations. He always responded.
Congratulations Ben, in your new role. ^

Had the same experience too!

Is it the same DO at AC HQ, where we also visited (linked by a tunnel) the ACTS (RIP) main hangar?
We saw a bunch of VPs, and R. Milton (then at the helm of ACE) was there too. Parnel was the organizer if I recall.

Indeed, congratulations Ben in your new role!

PS: Just recovered old PMs; my visit occured in Jan 2005, and it was indeed organised by Parnel. I took a picture of the group that attended (including our AC hosts). Got to find it back...

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Last edited by YUL; Aug 17, 2018 at 9:23 am Reason: added PS

Aug 17, 2018, 9:47 am

#126

NordsFan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by YUL

Is it the same DO at AC HQ, where we also visited (linked by a tunnel) the ACTS (RIP) main hangar?
We saw a bunch of VPs, and R. Milton (then at the helm of ACE) was there too. Parnel was the organizer if I recall.

14JAN 2005 at AC HQ in YUL.

I was there too. In addition to Ben Smith and RM, some of the AC VPs or directors present were: Montie Brewer, M. Forget, Lucie G.

Aeroplan was represented by Craig L and a female colleague.

FTers who I recall being there: parnel, acysb87, Doc Fraud, cedric, Super Larry.

We also had an enjoyable social outing with some YUL concierges.

Best wishes to Ben in his new functions.

YUL likes this.

Aug 17, 2018, 10:28 am

#127

ac/elite

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Quote:

Originally Posted by NordsFan

I was there too. Apart from the hangar tour, a highlight was flying the simulator.

Aug 17, 2018, 11:05 am

#128

YUL

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I found a list prepared then by Super Larry:

Final List For Do Dinner In Yul:

Parnel (CONFIRMED) 1
ACYSB87 (CONFIRMED ) 3
Super Larry (CONFIRMED) 2
Snoopyo (CONFIRMED) 1
NordsFan (CONFIRMED) 5 (He is so popular with women!!)
YUL (CONFIRMED) 1
Yulgirl (CONFIRMED) 2
ccorme (CONFIRMED) 1
blue2002 (CONFIRMED) 1
YOWser (CONFIRMED) 1
aad665 (CONFIRMED) 1
Back Seat (CONFIRMED) 1
Steve2286 (CONFIRMED) 1
NewtoCanada (CONFIRMED) 2
Cedric (CONFIRMED) 3

TOTAL 26

YUL Do

So NordsFan , I forgot the number of ladies you brought in...,

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Aug 17, 2018, 12:12 pm

#129

24left

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Stranger

.....Wishing him well too. May be a rough ride. But then, he may be the right guy for the job. Starting with being low key.

We'll need to watch him as he deals with unions.

@Stranger

And we're off to the races.

Ben is mentioned a few times in this article.

"More Strikes Loom at Air France-KLM, Shares Plummet" by Katherine Fan 31 minutes ago

https://thepointsguy.com/news/more-s...hares-plummet/

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Aug 17, 2018, 12:25 pm

#130

NordsFan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ac/elite

I was there too. Apart from the hangar tour, a highlight was flying the simulator.

I might be wrong, but wasn't the "SOC Visit, Cockpit Sim and Cabin Evac Sim" a seperate event that took place at YYZ, also with a hangar tour and a lunch with executive discussion session, some time after the YUL meeting in January 2005 ?

I was with Empress and PunishedYEGman in the A320 sim. The evac sim with the ride on the slide was quite impressive !

Last edited by NordsFan; Aug 17, 2018 at 12:37 pm

Aug 17, 2018, 12:27 pm

#131

Stranger

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 24left

Actually, my impression is that at AC, he may well actually have given enough in negotiations with pilots to keep them reasonably happy. And that this ultimately turned out to be positive in the larger scheme of things. Social peace has a price.

So I would not be surprised if in the end, these French unions find themselves happier than they expect.

Aug 17, 2018, 12:29 pm

#132

yyznomad

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Quote:

Originally Posted by NordsFan

There was also something similar at YVR c.2004, IIRC.

Aug 17, 2018, 12:47 pm

#133

NordsFan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by YUL

I found a list prepared then by Super Larry:

Final List For Do Dinner In Yul:

IIRC, final count was 3: CB (now retired from AC), the very efficient NZ and PF (who I ran into at YUL on 03AUG while boarding AC301). Great ladies all !

Last edited by NordsFan; Aug 17, 2018 at 1:35 pm

Aug 17, 2018, 12:53 pm

#134

ac/elite

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Quote:

Originally Posted by NordsFan

Quote:

Originally Posted by yyznomad

There was also something similar at YVR c.2004, IIRC.

I somehow misread the earlier post. I actually was at the YVR one, also organized by Parnel.

Aug 17, 2018, 12:54 pm

#135

NordsFan

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Quote:

Originally Posted by ac/elite

I was there too. Apart from the hangar tour, a highlight was flying the simulator.

Just checked old notes: the YYZ SOC and SIM Do was on Friday 04MAR 2005.

We had a group dinner at the Bifthèque on Dixon Road that evening. Several of us stayed at the Marriott.

Some attendees I remember: Empress, PunishedYEGman, YYCguy2, Q Shoe Guy, acysb87, parnel, Mozzarella, BlondeBomber, Shareholder, why fly.