Air Navigation

How TAP Air Portugal CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener is leading the airline’s post-pandemic recovery amid a potential sale

- Enrique Perrella

MEN HAVE HISTORICALLY led the commercial aviation industry, and today only eight percent of airline and airport leaders are women. One of them is Christine Ourmières-Widener, CEO of TAP Air Portugal, who rose from the trenches of maintenance hangars to the top office of a world-class carrier.

Born in the countryside city of Avignon, in Southern France, Ourmières-Widener studied to become an aeronautical engineer and a master of aeronautics. Her degrees enabled her to join the prestigious team at Air France who took care of Concorde, the world’s most iconic supersonic airliner.

From there, she held managerial positions within the group’s commercial and distribution departments. Then, in 2008, she became the first vice president/general manager of Air France-KLM USA, which led to her first C-suite position: chief executive officer of Irish regional carrier CityJet.

Ourmières-Widener has also been at the helm of Flybe, the U.K.’s largest regional carrier. In 2021, she was appointed as TAP Air Portugal’s CEO, brought in to restructure the airline and help it recover from its post-pandemic woes.

Her road to the top wasn’t easy. “It’s been a long journey,” she told Business Traveler during an exclusive interview in Miami. “You need to be patient and resilient. You need to take the opportunities that allow you to learn more.”