The Association of European Airlines (AEA), representing Europe’s major network carriers, has announced that Peter Hartman, president and CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, will chair the Association in 2008. Hartman takes over from Fernando Conte, chairman and CEO of Iberia.
KLM was one of the four founding members of AEA and 2008 will be the eighth year the airline has held the chair, a record unsurpassed by any other AEA member. Peter Hartman succeeded Leo van Wijk at the helm of KLM in 2007.
Hartman will take the helm of AEA in a year which many expect to be challenging for the industry. The business environment is expected to become tougher as the global economy cools, while cost pressures persist along the entire aviation value chain.