Anne Rigail assumes charge as Air France CEO

Dec 18, 2018: Air France has appointed Anne Rigail as CEO, in subsequent to the proposal of Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM and the approval of the Air France-KLM board of directors

Previously, EVP customer at Air France, Anne Rigail took charge as CEO Air France on December 17, replacing Smith, who was appointed as the acting CEO of Air France through the end of 2018.

“I would like to thank Benjamin Smith for the outstanding work he has accomplished during his time as acting CEO of Air France. Under his leadership, our airline has rapidly taken decisive steps, renewing constructive social dialogue, and proposing a new executive governance structure as seen with the arrival of Anne Rigail. I wish Anne every success in her new position, for the benefit of both Air France and the Air France-KLM group. I am very pleased that she has accepted this very exciting new challenge,” said Anne-Marie Couderc, chairwoman of the Air France-KLM board of directors.

Smith commented, “Anne is a strong professional in the airline industry. Throughout her career, she has always paid particular attention to employees while implementing the projects and transformations she has led, and placed the customer at the heart of everything she does. With the support and commitment of every single employee, I am confident we can rise to the challenges for Air France today, ensuring service excellence to all our customers. Together with Pieter Elbers, president and CEO of KLM, the Air France-KLM group is taking an important step in its reorganisation to reconquer its market position."

Anne Rigail is a graduate of the Mines Paris Tech University. She has worked with Air Inter, Air France at Paris-Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle hub at various positions.