Some highlights include:

• Customers have benefited as the partnership has 38 more peak day North America to Europe flights today than 10 years ago bringing the number to more than 270 daily trans-Atlantic flights.
• It’s now easier to connect to destinations across North America and Europe thanks to more hub-to-hub flying, such as Detroit-Paris and Atlanta-Amsterdam that offer a wealth of onward flights. The partnership has also opened up new U.S.-Europe city pairs that would not be possible for them to do alone, including service from non-hub cities, including Indianapolis, Raleigh/Durham and Dallas-Fort-Worth, to Paris and Tampa-Amsterdam.
• Eligible customers can use the largest airport lounge network across North America and Europe.
• There are opportunities to earn miles and redeem them on a number of benefits, including flight upgrades through each airlines’ frequent flyer programmes.
• The partners carry 20% more customers today compared to 10 years ago.

• Air France-KLM will acquire Virgin Group’s 31% stake in Virgin Atlantic for £220 million.
• Delta and China Eastern will each acquire a 10% stake in Air France-KLM within the framework of reserved capital increases totalling €751 million.

The strategic, commercial and equity investment of these partnerships will position Air France-KLM as the European pillar of the leading global airline network.

All of these agreements will enable Air France-KLM to offer its customers an expanded network and to capitalize on the pooling of extensive distribution networks. As an integral part of the Trust Together strategic project, these partnerships will support the Group’s profitable growth and enable Air France-KLM to offer its customers an unparalleled proposition. 

At the heart of the most global partnership in the airline industry

The combination of the existing joint ventures between firstly Air France-KLM, Delta and Alitalia, and secondly between Delta and Virgin Atlantic, within a single joint-venture marks the expansion and reinforcement of one of the most advanced partnership models in the airline industry. This joint venture will enable the Group* to:

• Offer customers an unrivaled proposition on transatlantic routes.
• Drive the capacity growth of the partners.
• Create an associate partner status enabling the inclusion of other players.
• Extend a partnership over a 15-year period.
• Generate significant annual synergies thanks to a new code share to/from London, sales coordination, the extended partnership and cost savings.

The creation of this joint-venture will thus consolidate Air France-KLM’s leadership position in the North-American and European markets with the largest airline network articulated around twelve powerful hubs on both sides of the Atlantic: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, London Heathrow, Minneapolis-St Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-CDG, Salt Lake City and Seattle. 

A strengthened partnership with China Eastern

In parallel, Air France-KLM and China Eastern will step up their commercial cooperation and reinforce their partnership within the framework of the existing joint venture, to:

• Secure and reinforce Air France-KLM’s presence in the Chinese market thanks to a long-term partnership.
• Give Air France-KLM a European leadership position on Shanghai, the main business market in China.
• Improve the services for our customers.
• Enable increased cooperation in terms of the network, pricing and operational synergies.

These capital increases will enable an improvement in Air France-KLM’s financial structure, accelerate the reduction in its net debt and finance the purchase of the stake in Virgin Atlantic.

*Subject to the signing of the final agreements and the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities.

Planned calendar for the transaction:

• 4th September 2017: Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting to approve the capital increases and the appointment of the new members of the Board of Directors (to take place on closure of the reserved capital increases)
• Once the regulatory approvals are obtained: Realization of the reserved capital increases.

Read Delta’s press release: www.delta.com
Read Virgin Atlantic’s press release: www.virginatlantic.com

Delta and KLM codeshare on these Jet Airways routes will provide customers with co-ordinated customer service, a single ticket and through-check in of bags to their final destinations. Delta SkyMiles and KLM Flying Blue members will be eligible to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles on codeshare routes operated by Jet.

In addition, Jet Airways will place its code on flights between Amsterdam and 11 destinations in the United States and Canada operated by Delta and KLM. These include: New York-JFK, Newark, Chicago, Washington D.C., Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Edmonton. Jet Airways will also codeshare on KLM-operated flights to 30 European destinations beyond Amsterdam including Madrid, Zurich and Milan. KLM’s service between Amsterdam and New Delhi also forms part of this agreement.

Delta and KLM offer up to 19 peak-day services to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport from 21 destinations in the United States and Canada. For further information and to book flights between the United States and India please log onto delta.com or klm.com.

In the first stage of the agreement a smooth use of each parties’ ground handling facilities at their hubs will enable a faster and seamless transfer process.

The agreement also covers mutual access to the airlines’ respective networks through interlining SPA (Special Prorate Agreements). The partners will also intensify their cooperation on the Express and Mail premium products in response to the substantial increase in e-commerce trade between Asia and Europe, and beyond.

Mr Bram Gräber, EVP AIR FRANCE KLM MARTINAIR Cargo and Mr Zhao Fengsheng, SVP China Southern Cargo, signed up to this new partnership at a ceremony in Guangzhou on 15 September, 2015.

Years of cooperation KLM and China

KLM and China Southern Airlines have worked together on the Amsterdam-Beijing route since 1996. Their cooperation has since steadily evolved into a strategic partnership. Now KLM serves routes between Amsterdam and mainland China (Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xiamen and together with China Southern Airlines Guangzhou) with a codeshare agreement in 2001 and a Joint Venture Agreement in 2006. KLM is proud of its partnership with China Southern Airlines, which makes Amsterdam an important gateway to China from Europe and for Chinese passengers visiting Europe and the rest of the world.

KLM and China Southern Airlines together offer eight non-stop services between Amsterdam and destinations in Greater China, with 57 frequencies a week, and per 26 July 2015 with the addition of Xiamen Airlines 60 frequencies a week. Together Air France and KLM operate nine destinations in Greater-China with 88 frequencies weekly.

Code sharing

KLM and Xiamen Airlines are both members of SkyTeam. The Xiamen Airlines’ flights will be codeshare operated with KLM. KLM and Xiamen Airlines currently have a one-sided codeshare agreement to six destinations in China. Due to the increase in the number of flights between Amsterdam and Xiamen, KLM and Xiamen Airlines will expand their codeshare partnership in China and Europe to 15 destinations. The airlines will also codeshare on the Amsterdam-Xiamen route.

About Xiamen Airlines

Xiamen Airlines is established on 25 July, 1984 and owned by China Southern Airlines (51%), Xiamen Construction and Development Group (34%), and Jizhong Energy Group (15%). Headquartered in Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN), Xiamen Airlines also operates another six bases in Beijing, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, ChangSha, Nanchang and Tianjin. Xiamen Airlines (IATA designator MF) is one of a few airlines operating an all Boeing fleet. Xiamen Airlines operates a total of 116 aircraft, including a mainline of ninety Boeing 737-800 and three brand new Boeing 787-8, with an average airplane service age of 5.3 years. With a network covering Greater China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia, Xiamen Airlines operates to 56 domestic destinations and 13 destinations in Asia Pacific.

To mark the start of the cooperation, KLM and Airbnb created a KLM aircraft apartment at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Three lucky winners had a chance to stay at the KLM airplane apartment: a family from Rotterdam with four-year-old twin boys who got to experience the inside of a real airplane for the first time, a couple from Rome celebrating the husband’s birthday by cooking in the airplane galley, and two young ladies from Jamaica and the United States respectively, happily reunited in Amsterdam after being too busy to meet for years.

Although this apartment was available for a limited time, there are over one million other Airbnb listings to choose from in nearly every country KLM travels to.

See the KLM Airbnb campaign site

Camiel Eurlings, President & CEO of KLM, will be member of the Alliance Committee of the Board of directors of GOL.

Since 2009, Air France-KLM and GOL have been committed to a code-sharing agreement that enables Air France and KLM to offer their customers an additional 28 destinations* in Brazil, beyond Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, by placing their codes on flights operated by GOL.

The new agreement signed today is in line with Air France-KLM’s strategy of strengthening its leading position in Brazil and Latin-America. As of summer 2014, Air France and KLM will increase their offer by operating 41 weekly flights from their hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol. Next to Sao Paulo & Rio de Janeiro, Air France will operate as of March 31, 2014, a new route to Brasilia with three weekly flights. Air France intends to operate a regular service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Sao Paulo by Airbus A380 as soon as the airport receives the authorization from the authorities. All these flights will connect to the GOL network with over 50 destinations.

This exclusive strategic partnership will provide for greater coordination between the networks to increase the number of connecting opportunities between Europe and Brazil. The codesharing between Air France-KLM and GOL flights will be extended to flights operated by Air France and KLM between Europe and Brazil as well as flights operated by GOL in Brazil.

The long-term agreement also provides for enhanced cooperation in the field of aircraft maintenance, including on engines and APU, aircraft components and for overhauls.

(*) GOL, since its inception in 2001, has become a major player in South America, with around 40% of the Brazilian domestic market. GOL operates a fleet of 141 Boeing 737NG aircraft supporting an extensive domestic network with 51 destinations in Brazil and services to ten countries across Central and South America. GOL detains a leading position in the main Brazilian airports.

Sergio Herman’s meals will be served in World Business Class on flights out of Amsterdam from 1 December 2013 until the end of September 2014.

About Sergio Herman
Sergio Herman (1970) is chef and owner of the restaurant Oud Sluis in the town of Sluis in Zeeland province. His restaurant has been awarded three Michelin stars and is ranked 35^th on San Pellegrino’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Earlier this year, Herman announced that he intended to close Oud Sluis for good on 22 December 2013. From 2014, he will focus on his second restaurant, Pure C, which is located in the dunes near the coastal village of Cadzand in Zeeland province. During the course of 2014, he will also turn his attention to The Jane and The Upper Room Bar in Antwerp.