Air France-KLM Appoints Oltion Carkaxhija as CEO to Lead Transavia's Unified Strategy

Air France-KLM has appointed Oltion Carkaxhija as the new CEO of Transavia, overseeing both its Dutch and French operations. Carkaxhija, formerly the deputy CEO under Benjamin Smith, is tasked with strengthening Transavia's position in the competitive intra-European low-cost airline market.

While Carkaxhija assumes leadership of the overall Transavia group, the French and Dutch branches will retain their current managing directors — Olivier Mazzucchelli for Transavia France and Paul Terstegge for Transavia Netherlands — ensuring continued local management. This organizational structure aims to unify strategic direction while maintaining operational focus within each market.

Transavia originally started as a Dutch airline in 1965 and was acquired by KLM in 1991. The French low-cost sister airline was established later in 2007, expanding the group's reach.

In conjunction with this appointment, Blaise Brigaud has been named deputy CEO responsible for sustainability and transformation, succeeding Carkaxhija and signaling an enhanced focus on environmental and operational innovation within the airline.

These leadership changes come as Air France-KLM focuses on consolidating and expanding Transavia’s presence in Europe’s budget travel segment, aiming to leverage unified leadership to boost competitiveness and growth.