Airlines

Air France-KLM and China Eastern Airlines tighten existing relationship

By Edward Robertson

Air France-KLM and China Eastern Airlines are growing their relationship which dates back 21 years.

The Chinese airline has committed to a share issue by Air France-KLM, with the European group offering shares at €4.84 in the hope of raising more than a billion euros to shore up its finances during the Covid-19 crisis.

The companies have also agreed to an intensified commercial cooperation and an extended collaboration to non-commercial related activities including ground services, catering and maintenance.

The European group will also have an increased footprint on the Beijing market, with the Paris-Beijing and Amsterdam-Beijing routes joining the current joint venture existing between Air France-KLM and China Eastern Airlines when conditions are satisfied.

The two partners have a long history of cooperation, having agreed their first codeshare on the Paris-Shanghai route in 2000 while a first joint venture agreement was signed between Air France and China Eastern Airlines in 2012. KLM joined the agreement in 2016.

China Eastern Airlines also took an equity stake in Air France-KLM in 2017, as the two parties continued to form a long-term strategic partnership.

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