Summary
- French bee has appointed Christine Ourmières-Widener as its latest CEO, making her the primary female CEO of the airline.
- Ourmières-Widener has 35 years of industry experience, including CEO roles at TAP Air Portugal and Flybe.
- The brand new CEO has been a number one advocate for more women in aviation.
French bee has appointed a brand new CEO, choosing former TAP Air Portugal head Christine Ourmières-Widener. She becomes the primary female CEO to steer French bee, bringing 35 years of experience to the table.
French bee’s latest female CEO
French bee has announced that Ourmières-Widener will join as its latest CEO and President this summer. The industry veteran will manage the long-haul carrier because it pushes forward with its exciting expansion plans.
Photo: French bee
Ourmières-Widener commented,
Christine Ourmières-Widener may sound familiar to Easy Flying readers. It is because she was appointed CEO of TAP Air Portugal in June 2021, and had previously been the CEO of Flybe before its sale to a Virgin Atlantic-led consortium in 2019. Under her stewardship, TAP achieved record profits over 2022, all while undergoing extensive restructuring ahead of a proposed sale.
Ourmières-Widener would later be dramatically fired from her role at TAP during a live press conference in March 2023, having been involved in an allegedly illegal severance package to a departing board member. The CEO is currently pursuing legal motion against the Portuguese government, with many claiming she was used as a scapegoat. French bee says it would publish more details on its strategy plans for 2024 in the subsequent few weeks.
Increasing female representation
Just 6% of the incumbent CEOs at airlines today are female. Ourmières-Widener has long been a number one advocate for more female representation within the upper echelons of the industry.
Ourmières-Widener added,
Prior to her role as CEO at Flybe, Ourmières-Widener was the primary female CEO at Irish airline CityJet, overseeing a sale to Air France-KLM. She formerly led Air France-KLM in america between 2009 and 2010, also becoming the primary female on this role.
Photo: French bee
Before her leadership of airlines, Ourmières-Widener spent several years working within the travel industry with French tech firm Amadeus and as Global Sales Director at American Express Global Business Travel. She can also be on the board of directors of hydrogen-electric developer ZeroAvia and previously served as certainly one of only two women on the IATA Board of Governors starting in 2017.
About French bee
French bee markets itself as a ‘smart-cost’, long-haul carrier, a business model that has historically been difficult to succeed with. Since launching in 2016, the carrier has grown its network to seven destinations, 4 of that are within the US – San Francisco, Newark, Los Angeles and Miami.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace I Easy Flying
The airline operates with six modern Airbus A350s – 4 A350-900s and two A350-1000s. Its A350-900s can seat as much as 411 passengers – 35 in Premium Blue and 376 in economy, while its larger A350-100s can carry as much as 480 passengers – 40 in Premium Blue and 440 in economy.
Have you ever ever flown with French bee? What do you’re thinking that of the airline’s CEO appointment? Tell us within the comments.