Richard was awarded the Medal of Officer of the Legion D’Honneur, the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award for services to the state, during a ceremony in Paris Monday.

Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman and CEO of the Air France-KLM group, presented the Insignia of the Legion D’Honneur on behalf of the president of the Republic.

“It is a great honor to present you with this prestigious award in recognition of your professional achievements and expression of our esteem of your personal merits,” Jean-Cyril said. He noted Richard’s leadership in the airline industry, including the completion of the successful merger between Delta and Northwest, as well as being a key player in creating the transatlantic joint venture between Air France-KLM, Alitalia and Delta.

The Legion D’Honneur was created in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte and originally was awarded to military personnel, but was later extended to include civilians. It is exceptional to be awarded to a foreigner and even more exceptional for a non-French national to be named to the rank of officer.

“It is a true privilege to receive this award,” Richard said. “Our forbears believed that peoples of different nations achieve great things when cooperating and learning from one another. Today that cooperation is very much in evidence with our JV between Air France-KLM and Alitalia.”

The presentation was attended by senior executives of Delta, Air France and KLM and key government and aviation officials.