MONTREAL — Air Canada has named Scandinavian Airlines head Anko Van der Werff as its next chief executive, as the country’s largest carrier undergoes a major fleet expansion and deals with fallout from soaring jet fuel costs and diminished travel to the United States.

Van der Werff, a Dutch native who has led the Sweden-based airline for five years, will take over the top job by the end of January, replacing CEO Michael Rousseau, who will step down on Aug. 31.

Critically, the incoming CEO can speak French, on top of English and several other languages.

“I understand the importance of being able to communicate in French here in Canada,” Van der Werff said in a 6 1/2-minute internal company video message to employees that was delivered entirely in French.

His predecessor was widely criticized for an inability to communicate in French while heading a company headquartered in Montreal and required to operate in both of Canada’s official languages. Rousseau announced his retirement earlier this year after coming under fire for failing to deliver his condolences in French after a plane crash that killed two Air Canada Express pilots — one of them a francophone Quebecer.

Rousseau’s four-minute video posted online included only two words in the language: “bonjour” and “merci.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney said the decision to release the video solely in English showed a “lack of judgment and lack of compassion” while Quebec Premier François Legault called it disrespectful to the airline’s employees and its francophone customers.

On top of thorny language issues, Van der Werff will have to navigate an economic environment where Canadian airlines continue to reel from customers’ U.S. travel aversion and the aftershocks of high jet fuel prices caused by the Iran war, all as Air Canada pushes toward a big fleet expansion.

Now in his early 50s, Van der Werff piloted SAS Group — the holding company for Scandinavian Airlines — through bankruptcy protection after a painful restructuring that zapped billions of dollars in debt and ushered in new owners headed by Air France-KLM.

“It’s a tough file,” said Robert Kokonis, president of consulting firm AirTrav Inc. “All the carriers are trying to figure out: where do you redirect your capacity from transborder into other markets?

“Having a leader that is strong and has gone through tough times himself is not necessarily a bad thing,” he said.

Sweeping new aircraft orders at Air Canada over the last eight months seek to expand its long-haul flexibility and fleet efficiency by phasing out older planes at its regional Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express services. It has staked some of its hopes on the Airbus A321 XLR, with 30 orders for the single-aisle jet.

“That’s going to give Air Canada the ability to fly a lot of new routes that were previously too thin, routes that were too small for wide-bodies,” Kokonis said.

Van der Werff brings a breadth of international aviation experience and a 25-year track record, Air Canada chairman Vagn Sorensen said.

“We are confident he will drive further value-creating growth and transformation while maintaining our commitment to disciplined capital allocation,” he said in a news release.

Before joining SAS in 2021, Van der Werff served as chief executive of Avianca, a leading Latin American airline. His CV also includes stints as chief commercial officer at Aeromexico and senior leadership positions at Qatar Airways, in addition to various management roles at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Rousseau will step down after 19 years with the airline and five as its CEO. After his departure this summer, the airline’s executive committee will report to the board of directors until Van der Werff comes aboard, the company said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2026.

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Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press