Air France KLM confirmed the appointment of Jean-Marc Janaillac to replace Alexandre de Juniac as its chairman and CEO. The 63-year-old executive, who currently leads French train and bus group Transdev, will take over from de Juniac when he takes up his new position as executive director of the International Air Transport Association. Officially, de Juniac’s notice period would run through July 31, but plans call for him to join IATA in time for its general meeting in Dublin, Ireland, on June 1.

Though de Juniac claims to have largely completed the task of restructuring Air France KLM, Janaillac may well face further battles with powerful French unions that have repeatedly shown a willingness to take prolonged strike action to defy efforts by the flagcarrier’s management to reduce its bloated cost structures. Janaillac previously worked for Air France in the early 1990s and served on its board, before taking on the position of chief operating officer of the now-defunct French carrier AOM from 1997 to 2000. According to reports in the financial press, Air France KLM first offered the top position to Emirates chief commercial officer Thierry Antinori, who turned down the offer.