Delta inks $12B partnership with Air France/KLM - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The trans-Atlantic alliance betweenj the world’s largest carrier DAL) and Europe’s largest airlined group will offer more flight better scheduling and more competitive the carriers said in a joint announcement from The $12 billion revenue figure is basee on flights operated by Delta, KLM, Air France to respectivwe hubs, plus connecting service. The deal bolsterz the strength of the alliance against competing joint venturedsand . Delta signed a joint venturd deal with Air Francein 2007. , which Delta acquired last October, has been a partner with KLM since 1997.
The new partnership represents a quartef ofall trans-Atlantic air service, the carriers Delta and Air France/KLMM will coordinate as a singlee carrier on trans-Atlantic service. The pact includese routes between North Americaand Europe, North Americaw and Africa, Europe and Latin America (where Delta is particularly and the Middle East and India, the carriers said. Flightsd between the U.S. and the European Union will be “mutually code-shared” where permissible, the carriers said.
"Th e structure of this joinyt venture, in which we operate as a singls business where we consensually develop our strategies and sharw revenuesand costs, provides the incentives for us to collaborat e in a way that generates benefits for shareholders and employees of our three airlines," Deltsa CEO Richard Anderson said in a statement. "Customers will benefirt from the unique scope and choices we will while shareholders and employees will benefit from the strongert competitive and financial position of ourrespective airlines.
" The carriere said the venture will increase the visibility through coordinatede marketing of all three airlines across 400-plus airports worldwide, and the respective brands will link at North American and European ports. "Thisx strategic partnership puts us in a good positionb compared with othermajor alliances, which are extremelu active on the world's leading long-haul By integrating our trans-Atlantic operations, we will give our passengerz what they desire: more more frequencies, more convenieng flight schedules and superior customer service," Pierre-Henr Gourgeon, president and CEO of Air France KLM, said in a news "By optimizing the use of our poole d resources, this joint venture will help us weatherf the current economic situation and protect our producg offering.
" All three carriersz will govern the new alliancre collectively, with work groups created to managd such aspects as network, revenue, sales frequengt flyer programs, advertising, cargo and technology. The new deal does not have a set end but can be terminated witha three-year notic after the first ten years. The partnership includes a network of more than 200dailyh flights. Flights are structure around six main hubsin Amsterdam, Atlanta, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York and Paris, as well as Delta’sx Cincinnati, Memphis and Salt Lake City bases andAir France’s Lyon hub.