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OPEN LETTER

Paris, Amsterdam, 23rd of June 2018

Subject: Upcoming nomination of AF/KLM CEO

Attention: AF/KLM CEO (Mrs. COUDERC), AF/KLM Board Members, Air France and KLM CEOs (M. ELBERS, M. GAGEY, M. TERNER).

The nomination of the next AF/KLM Group CEO seems to be a matter of days.

According to the rumors, it looks like recent history has already been forgotten at any level of French State, Executive Board or Nomination Committee.

Our company is going through a dramatic phase of its history.

The new CEO will be the 4th one since 2014, in a context where weak financial performances -compared with our main competitors- and endless strikes with poor social relationships are threatening our future, our collective future.

As Dutch and French current or former union leaders with a long experience in the airline business and employee-employer relations, we would like to humbly express our deepest concerns about this upcoming nomination.

From our point of view and for the sake of the company, the next CEO should be a person who:

• Demonstrates independence from the authorities, courage to carry out necessary reforms and commitment to put all the stakeholders in front of their responsibilities to restore the competitiveness of all the entities of the Group.
• Really understands the airline industry and grasps the competitive reality AF/KLM has to face. Fierce competition -and on the top of that unfair competition from massivelystate subsidized companies-, airlines using all the loopholes of the European regulation to distort the market, politicians and bureaucratic decision makers with no or short-term vision about aviation related tax policy or infrastructure, that is the reality the Group has to cope with and which it should counteract aggressively and effectively.
• Knows how to work with all categories of employees in order to build a coherent vision, a plan forward and then lead the group to execute the plan with collective support.
• Understands the AF/KLM Group is a French and a Dutch company with a long and different history and culture while creating value through great, well-known andhighly appreciated different Group brands. The new leader should be someone who will run the Holding in an inclusive manner, not excluding any important segment of the Group.
• Strongly believes human capital is of the utmost importance an airline, that AF/KLM group employees are performance minded, strongly committed to their company, people with a strong sense of community, proud to work for such old and famous airlines.

In crystal clear words, AF/KLM doesn't need the oligarchy to push into office someone for thousands of bad reasons. AF/KLM needs a charismatic, competent, strong and independent leader. He or she should be up and running as soon as possible. An inappropriate decision by the Nomination Committee could have drastic consequences as we are at crossroads of huge airline consolidation in which AF/KLM seriously lags behind. In that case, it will be far from sure that AF/KLM will not become the next Sabena or Alitalia. No need to say this is the last thing we want to happen.

We actually need a CEO with knowledge and skills of airline business and who knows how to cope with actual disruption. Consequently, we call on stakeholders’ and decision makers’
responsibility, up to the President of The French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to deal with an efficient nomination, with the health and future prosperity of AF/KLM as one and only priority.
 

Sincerely yours,
 

Erick DERIVRY Captain B777 Air France, former President SNPL France ALPA

Philippe RAFFIN Captain A320 Air France, former Vice-President SNPL Air France ALPA

Bernard PÉDAMON Captain B777 Air France, former board member Air France KLM Group

Robert SWANKHUIZEN Maintenance KLM, President NVLT

Steven VERHAGEN Captain A330, former President VNV Dutch ALPA, former Chairman SPAAK