After thirty years of KLM, of which about eight years as chief executive, Pieter Elbers walks out of the revolving door of the head office in Amstelveen for the last time this week without a big goodbye. It was eight turbulent years. We list eight highs and lows.
On October 14, 2014, the outside world also heard that Camiel Eurlings’ position as CEO of KLM is no longer tenable. The thoroughly KLM blue Pieter Elbers, who was already close to the fire and was already mentioned by many before Eurlings came into the picture, is still appointed in the highest position. He starts immediately.
Under Elbers, the relations between Amstelveen (KLM) and Paris (parent company Air France-KLM) are quickly put on edge. There has been haggling about money, Transavia, planes and whatnot. Elbers wins the first battle, over about 1 billion euros in cash from KLM.
For airplane enthusiasts, these are beautiful and melancholic times in the Elbers era. For example, KLM will receive the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Plane spotters are also delighted with a real orange Boeing 777. On the other hand, the last Fokker is retiring and the not so economical Boeing 747 is put aside prematurely by the economical Elbers.
First KLM strike ever
Elbers’ frugality, who wants KLM to be well positioned for the future, has led to interventions in the workplace and the first strike by KLM staff ever. After that first work stoppage, a whole series of them follow. KLM is in a better position financially.
None of the staff seems angry with Elbers if Paris does not seem to grant him a new term as CEO of KLM at the beginning of 2019. The staff starts a petition for the preservation of Elbers and gathers en masse in Amstelveen to show support. Even the government is involved. Elbers is eventually allowed to continue.
Although it was openly doubted by some, KLM is still reaching the hundred years. With which, Elbers cannot emphasize often enough, it is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its own name. “Live and full of confidence, KLM stands on the threshold of a new century,” Elbers noted in October 2019.
Coronavirus heralded the beginning of the end
At the time, he did not yet know what aviation and later the whole world would face with the corona virus. Everyone still remembers the images of the entire KLM fleet on the ground. The planes were even parked in Rotterdam and Groningen. Elbers guided KLM through this bizarre period fairly unscathed.
This marked the beginning of the end for him. Relations with Paris had deteriorated further since Ben Smith took office as top boss there. Like Eurlings then, Elbers is not finishing his term now; it would end on May 1, 2023. After a few years as a top woman at NS, Marjan Rintel is now returning to the old KLM nest to take over from him.
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