Air Canada Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft sit parked at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Aug. 18, 2025. The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck
Air Canada has named Scandinavian Airlines head Anko Van der Werff as the Canadian airline’s next chief executive.
The Montreal-based airline says Van der Werff will assume the job and join Air Canada’s board of directors by the end of January 2027.
He succeeds Michael Rousseau, who is set to retire effective Aug. 31 after 19 years with the airline and five as its CEO. Air Canada says that after Rousseau’s departure and for the transition period, the airline’s executive committee will report to the board of directors.
Before joining SAS in 2021, Van der Werff was chief executive of Avianca, a leading airline in Latin America.
Rousseau was widely criticized for his lack of ability to communicate in French.
As a native of the Netherlands, Air Canada says Van der Werff speaks Dutch and is also able to communicate in French and English, adding that he has also learned Spanish, Italian and Swedish at different levels over the course of his career.
