Air France-KLM and China Eastern broaden their joint venture

Air France-KLM and its stakeholder and business partner China Eastern announced plans Thursday to broaden their joint venture to take in new routes. The companies said they would add the Paris-Wuhan and Paris-Kunming routes to their network, on a code-sharing basis. “By strengthening the joint venture, our group pursues its partnership-driven Asia strategy.” said Air France KLM executive Patrick Alexandre. China Eastern and Delta each hold 8.8% of Air France-KLM’s share capital. The French government holds 14%, while AccorHotels has expressed interest in taking a minority stake in Air France-KLM. Air France-KLM has been looking for a new CE following the abrupt departure of CE Jean-Marc Janaillac in May, after staff rejected a pay proposal aimed at ending strikes that have resulted in heavy losses.<br/>