President & CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta of Air France KLM was today awarded the title Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
AMSTELVEEN – Mr. Spinetta received the decoration from the Netherlands Minister of Transport, Public Works & Water Management, Karla Peijs, at a festive reception held at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. This event was held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of KLM’s first flight with the Dakota DC-3 on the Amsterdam-Paris route.
Minister Peijs said that Mr. Spinetta had been awarded the royal order because “it was thanks to his immense personal commitment that the merger between Air France and KLM was sealed in 2004. This move has confirmed the role of Air France and KLM as pioneers in aviation.” She went on to say that, during negotiations in preparation of the merger in 2003, Mr. Spinetta had conducted himself in a manner that was clearly sympathetic and attentive to Dutch interests surrounding the merger, particularly because there had been widespread concern in the Netherlands at the time regarding the potential repercussions of the merger for the position of Schiphol as well as KLM. “But you agreed to grant initial assurances to the Dutch Government regarding, among other things, the position of Schiphol within the new combine and the key destinations that KLM was to serve. This swiftly silenced those who saw the merger as a ‘national sellout’,” said Minister Peijs.
[GADS_NEWS]The minister also lauded Mr. Spinetta’s efforts in other areas. She mentioned his active role in the informal EU Transport Council chaired by the Netherlands in July 2004, the academic chair for maintenance, repair and overhaul that had been established at the Delft University of Technology, and his contribution to the Franco-Dutch aviation conference held in Amsterdam this April. “This conference has given a new impulse to the Franco-Dutch Cooperation Council and has definitely served to strengthen the bond between our two countries.”
In closing, Minister Peijs quoted the French playwright Henri Bornier. “His motto was: ‘tout homme a deux pays: le sien en puis La France’ – every man has two homelands; his own and France. Since 2004, this has certainly applied for KLM. Your efforts on behalf of Air France KLM have proved to be a great benefit to the people of the Netherlands.”
