Anko van der Werff will take the helm of Canadian carrier in early 2027.
SAS chief executive Anko van der Werff will step down from the Scandinavian carrier in early 2027 to lead Air Canada.
Van der Werff, who joined SAS in 2021, will take up the role of chief executive of Air Canada early next year, SAS confirms in an 8 July statement. He will remain in his current role until then. SAS says its board will now begin the process of appointing his successor.
“This has not been an easy decision,” says Van der Werff. “Over the past years, we have navigated a highly demanding period together and made substantial progress in strengthening the company. Many of the key building blocks are now in place, and SAS is well positioned for the next phase of its development.”
He will succeed Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau, who will retire on 31 August after 19 years with the airline. Between Rouuseau’s departure and Van der Werff joining at the end of January, Air Canada says its executive committee will report to the board of directors.
Air Canada had announced in March that Rousseau would retire at the end of September. The announcement came days after he faced intense criticism for his response to a deadly collision between a Jazz Aviation MHIRJ CRJ900 regional jet and a fire truck at Laguardia airport in New York.
Air Canada says it selected Van der Werff after a “comprehensive global search” for a new chief executive.
“We are delighted to have attracted and recruited an executive of Mr Van der Werff’s stature to lead Air Canada,” says Air Canada chair Vagn Sorensen.
“He has an exceptional breadth of international aviation experience and a proven 25-year track record, including his most recent forward-looking executive leadership at Scandinavian Airlines, Avianca Group and Aeromexico, and earlier at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Qatar Airways.
“We are confident he will drive further value-creating growth and transformation while maintaining our commitment to disciplined capital allocation.”
During his time at SAS, Van der Werff steered the carrier out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2024. Air France-KLM is in the process of increasing its 19.9% stake in SAS to 60.5% through a full acquisition of stakes held by US investment firm Castlelake and Lind Invest.
Earlier this month, SAS placed a firm order with Airbus for 18 A330-900s as part of a plan to add up to 40 Airbus widebodies to its fleet.
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