If Mr Gourgeon...seems to be very happy with his company (some people never learn) ... Mr Spinetta...
Narval, when Mr. Spinetta was appointed to head Air France over a decade ago, nobody there or at Air Inter, the domestic carrier, expected him to last very long. The job was a political plum that came on plush one- or two-year ejection seat and he turned it into a real job. From your pseudonym, I infer you already know this but it might be news to at least some readers here.
Reports of his speech at the AF/KLM annual general meeting reflect his ability to communicate sincere sober emotion along with the frank statement "We were caught out on safety."
On Mr. Gourgeon, the same interview which has been served up here in bits and pieces contains another morsel:
Pourquoi ne pas être allé immédiatement au Brésil ?
Je ne suis pas allé immédiatement au Brésil pour pouvoir assister à la cérémonie en hommage aux victimes à Notre-Dame de Paris. Le lendemain, j'étais à Roissy pour le rassemblement en mémoire des douze membres d'équipage et de quatre autres salariés disparus dans le vol AF 447. C'était très émouvant, il y avait 10 000 personnes. Le silence était total. Le moment très difficile. Nous avions la mission d'amener nos passagers à bon port et nous ne l'avons pas fait. Chacun pense dans la compagnie : «Air France, ce n'est pas ça». La charge émotionnelle est immense. Quant au Brésil, j'en reviens. Là-bas, le 30ème jour après la disparition d'un proche est un jour de deuil très important. J'y étais. Les familles que j'ai rencontrées en étaient très touchées.
This obtains:
Why didn't you go out to Brazil right away?
I didn't go right out to Brazil so I could attend the memorial service for the victims at Notre Dame Cathedral. I was at Roissy (Airport) for a ceremony to commemorate the 12 crew members and four other AF staff lost on AF447. It was very moving; there were 10,000 people. There was total silence. It was a difficult moment. Our mission was to deliver passengers to destination safely and we didn't do that. Everyone in the company was thinking: 'This is not what Air France is about.' The atmosphere was heavy. Getting back to Brazil, there, the 30th day after someone passes away is a very important day of mourning. I was there. It was very touching for the families I met.
Looking at the whole interview, I'd qualify Mr. Gourgeon's attitude as defensively shaken, responding with a barrage of detail to project an attitude of transparency. Another question was about the rumor of a spate of cabin crew resignations, which he took as an insult to the commitment of AF staff, adding that "not one" had opted out. A preceding question asked about delays in contacting victims' families. He just said nobody asks you for your next of kin anymore when you buy a ticket, you just indicate your mobile phone number: "But obviously the mobile phones were with the passengers."
On a last detail, Spinetta chairs the AF/KLM board; Gourgeon is AF/KLM CEO.