Air Canada has named Anko Van der Werff, the current President and Chief Executive Officer of Scandinavian Airlines, as its next top executive, giving Canada’s largest airline a new international leader after months of speculation over who would succeed Michael Rousseau.
Van der Werff is expected to become Air Canada’s President and CEO and join the company’s Board of Directors by the end of January 2027. Rousseau, who has spent 19 years with Air Canada, including five years as CEO, is scheduled to retire on August 31, 2026.
The appointment is important for travelers, employees, investors and Canadian policymakers because Air Canada is not just a commercial airline. It is a major national carrier, a central player in domestic and international travel, and a Montreal-based company operating in a country where leadership communication in both English and French carries public significance.
Air Canada turns to a global airline leader
Van der Werff has led SAS since 2021, a period that included restructuring and a major shift in the Scandinavian carrier’s ownership. SAS, which is part-owned by Air France-KLM, said he will remain in his current role until the beginning of 2027 while the airline starts the process of finding his successor.
Before joining SAS, Van der Werff served as CEO of Avianca, one of Latin America’s major airline groups. His earlier career also included senior executive roles at Aeroméxico and Qatar Airways, giving him experience across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America-facing aviation markets.
That international background helps explain the choice. Air Canada’s next CEO will have to manage long-haul demand, alliance partnerships, fleet planning, premium travel, cost pressure and operational reliability. Those are not purely Canadian challenges; they are global airline challenges.
According to Air Canada’s official GlobeNewswire announcement, the company said Van der Werff will become President and Chief Executive Officer and join the Board by the end of January 2027.
Rousseau exit leaves a planned transition period
Rousseau announced in March 2026 that he would retire, triggering the search for his successor. His departure date creates a gap between the end of August and Van der Werff’s expected arrival several months later.
During that interim period, Air Canada said its executive committee will report directly to the Board of Directors. That gives the board closer oversight while the incoming CEO completes his current responsibilities at SAS.
Rousseau’s time at Air Canada included the difficult recovery from pandemic-era travel restrictions, when airlines had to rebuild schedules, staffing, customer confidence and financial stability. But his later tenure was also shaped by criticism over his limited ability to communicate in French.
The issue became especially sensitive because Air Canada is headquartered in Montreal and operates in a bilingual country. Rousseau also faced renewed criticism earlier in 2026 after not offering condolences in French following a crash that killed two pilots.
Air Canada has emphasized that Van der Werff, who is from the Netherlands, speaks Dutch and can communicate in both French and English. The airline also said he has learned Spanish, Italian and Swedish at different levels during his career.
Why the language issue matters
For many companies, a CEO’s language skills may be a secondary detail. For Air Canada, they became part of the leadership story because the airline serves a bilingual national market and has deep political and cultural visibility in Quebec.
Van der Werff’s multilingual background does not guarantee that the issue disappears. But it gives Air Canada a chance to reset the public conversation around leadership communication while also bringing in an executive with experience running airlines through complex operating environments.
That combination is likely why the appointment is being watched beyond aviation circles. The new CEO will have to lead a business that is commercial, public-facing and nationally symbolic at the same time.
What passengers should expect
For passengers, there is no immediate change to bookings, flight schedules, baggage rules or Aeroplan accounts. Airline strategy normally changes slowly because aircraft orders, route planning, staffing and airport operations are built around long timelines.
Still, CEO decisions eventually affect the customer experience. Van der Werff will influence how Air Canada invests in service, manages delays, develops international routes, handles costs and responds to operational disruptions.
His experience at SAS and Avianca may be relevant because both airlines required difficult management decisions in competitive markets. Air Canada is in a different position, but the broader aviation industry continues to face aircraft delivery delays, labour expectations, maintenance constraints and high operating costs.
For readers following aviation developments, airline leadership changes often matter most when disruption strikes. A recent example is the K2 Airways cargo plane incident near Karachi, which showed how quickly aviation stories can become major public-interest news.
Read More:
- K2 Airways cargo plane missing near Karachi after losing contact
- FIFA suspends two USMNT staff members before Belgium match
- Visit the Swikblog homepage for more latest news
Key dates in Air Canada’s CEO change
2021: Anko Van der Werff becomes CEO of Scandinavian Airlines.
March 2026: Michael Rousseau announces his plan to retire from Air Canada.
August 31, 2026: Rousseau is scheduled to retire after 19 years with the airline.
September 2026 to January 2027: Air Canada’s executive committee will report directly to the Board of Directors during the transition period.
Beginning of 2027: Van der Werff is expected to leave SAS, while SAS begins selecting its next CEO.
By the end of January 2027: Van der Werff is expected to formally join Air Canada as President and CEO and become a board member.
Air Canada now has a named successor and a defined handover plan. Van der Werff’s first test will be whether his international airline experience can translate into stronger confidence among Canadian travelers, employees and investors as the airline begins its next leadership chapter.
Make Swikblog your go-to source on Google for reliable updates, smart insights, and daily trends.
