Joint-venture

A major asset for the Air France-KLM group and immediate benefits for its customers 

The joint venture represents 26% of total capacity between Europe and North America and generates revenue of 11 billion dollars per year.

In this way, the four airlines offer their customers numerous benefits:

• a more varied choice of destinations with more frequencies and adapted schedules,
• a vast network with over 250 daily flights operated by 144 aircraft,
• 27 points of entry in North America,  
• 33 points of entry in Europe,
• close to 300 destinations in North America,
• close to 200 destinations in Europe, Asia and Latin America,
• competitive fares,
• harmonized ground and in-flight services,
• the possibility of earning Flying Blue Miles, MilleMiglia and SkyMiles on all flights operated within the framework of the JV,  
• the largest network of lounges on both sides of the Atlantic,
• dedicated call centres in Europe and North America.

Structured around 7 connecting hubs

The joint venture is structured around 7 major hubs: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, Paris-CDG and Rome Fiumicino, as well as Cincinnati, Lyon, Milan, Memphis and Salt Lake City.  

Its geographical scope covers routes between Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe, as well as routes linking Amsterdam to India and North America and Tahiti.  

An executive committee, made up of the CEOs of all four airlines, defines the strategy of the joint venture. Twelve working groups are responsible for implementing the agreements, especially concerning the network, products, customer loyalty programs, cargo, information systems and advertising.

The joint venture is for an indefinite period of time. After a period of ten years, the agreement may be terminated with a notice period of three years.

A process which began in 1997   

• 29 September 1997: Northwest and KLM sign the first ever joint venture agreement in the air transport industry. 
• 22 March 2007: The European Union and the United States sign an open-sky agreement 
• 17 October 2007: Air France and Delta set up a joint venture, implemented on 1 April 2008, on all routes between their hubs, as well as on departure from and to London Heathrow.
• 20 May 2009: Air France KLM and Delta sign a joint venture agreement involving joint operations and the sharing of revenues and costs on their transatlantic routes. 
• 5 July 2010: Alitalia, the main Italian airline, joined this joint venture on 5 July 2010, opening up the JV to the Italian market, the 3rd largest in Europe and providing a new hub at Rome-Fiumicino.