As Air France-KLM’s board approved the second term of KLM’s current President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Marjan Rintel, De Unie, a Netherlands-based union, warned that the airline’s employees will most likely pay the price of the Dutch carrier’s continuing and accelerating transformation program.
On February 2, 2026, KLM confirmed that Rintel will continue her tenure as President and CEO of KLM for another four years, with the formal confirmation of her reappointment still pending the approval of the Dutch carrier’s shareholders.
Accelerating KLM’s transformation program
In its statement, KLM said that Rintel’s priority during her second term will be “to accelerate KLM’s transformation, aimed at structurally strengthening its operational and financial foundation.”
“The structure and governance of the organization will be adjusted to meet this ambition and to make KLM both stronger and future-proof.”
The airline’s management will have even more direct input on day-to-day operations, with the goal of increasing KLM’s reliability and predictability for stakeholders, including passengers and its employees.
Wiebe Draijer, the Chairman of KLM’s Supervisory Board, warned that the Dutch carrier continues facing “significant” challenges, affirming that the board “fully supports” Rintel’s focus on structural improvements in the airline’s results.
Ben Smith, the CEO of Air France-KLM, added that while Rintel and her team have faced “an adverse Dutch aviation environment with significant increases in taxes and uncontrollable external costs,” he was confident that KLM’s chief executive would help the airline “reach its targets, bringing strong value to our Group.”
In addition to reappointing Rintel, KLM said that Maarten Stienen, its current Chief Operating Officer (COO), who has been in his role since 2022, will not seek a second term in May. The Dutch airline will initiate “a careful process to appoint a new COO, considering candidates both from within and outside the company.”
‘Price paid by employees,’ according to union
In its statement following the announcement that Rintel’s tenure at KLM will continue, Reinier Castelein, the Chairman of De Unie, which represents the airline’s ground staff, KLM Cityhopper employees, and cabin crews, bluntly stated that he has “mixed feelings” about the changes – or the lack thereof – at the helm of the company.
Castelein said that despite “disappointing financial results, a persistent staff shortage, and lagging production,” Rintel is confident about turning things around, with the confidence being affirmed by “an even stronger mandate from Paris,” namely Air France-KLM’s headquarters, to “get KLM back on track.”
“Therefore, congratulations to [Rintel] are mixed. The price will most likely be paid by the employees. De Unie will carefully monitor the balance between the interests of the employees and the company.”
Rytis Beresnevicius
Insurmountable obstacles
At the same time, Castelein admitted that Stienen’s term has been difficult. The COO had to step up and revive a “battered operation” following the pandemic, and has faced continuous challenges, including staff shortages, the regulatory environment, limitations at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), and the airspace closures above Russia and the Middle East.
“The new COO will face the same obstacles,” Castelein added. De Unie’s Chairman continued its sharp criticism of the airline, concluding that the search for KLM’s new COO was just “a show” considering that the Dutch carrier has been “increasingly managed from Paris” and not Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
“De Unie is more than curious to see what Paris’ response will be to Stienen’s decision to go his own way.”
Stienen’s latest challenge was the winter storm that battered the Netherlands in early January, resulting in hundreds of cancellations due to cold weather that is not typical for the country. On January 20, KLM said that together with Royal Schiphol Group, it launched a “joint evaluation into the recent disruptions caused by extreme winter weather.”
The findings and recommendations will be shared with the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management by the end of March, KLM said.
Rytis Beresnevicius
