Air France, KLM Merge JVs With China Southern, Xiamen

Air France, KLM, China Southern and Xiamen Airlines announced that they will merge their two existing agreements to create a single joint venture.

The new JV will connect the four airlines’ networks and offer customers a wider choice of destinations and improved flight transfer and connection times.

Air France said the aim is to create even stronger links between the partners, connecting Europe (via Paris and Amsterdam hubs) to Chinese hub airports Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Xiamen. The four airlines currently carry 1,250,000 passengers between Europe and China on their joint-operated routes.

Frequent flyer miles will be awardable on the JV carriers’ flights.

“In 2016 we celebrated 10 years joint venture between KLM and China Southern, today we merge the existing two joint ventures into one,” KLM chief executive Pieter Elbers said.

“I’m proud of this joint venture because it serves to further intensify Air France-KLM’s interests in China. Joining forces offers our customers an extensive, seamless network within China and Europe,” he added.