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The board of Air France-KLM agreed to reappoint the head of its KLM division, the Franco-Dutch airline group said, resolving a standoff over new group CE Ben Smith's plans for closer integration of the two carriers. In a separate advance for Smith the group also signed a pay deal with its French pilots Tuesday, drawing a line under a labour dispute that blighted operations last year. Smith has been pushing for more concerted decision-making between the two brands as well as his own seat on the KLM board, but had encountered resistance from the Dutch carrier's workforce and CE Pieter Elbers. Concerns about the possible departure of Elbers after his KLM contract expires in April led to a show of public support by its employees last week, as well as talks between Smith and Dutch ministers. <br/>

China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines are planning to start Beijing services to London and Paris late this year from the Chinese capital’s new airport, according to sources. The planned services indicate the degree of new competition for Air China that Beijing Daxing International will introduce when it opens Sept 30. Until now, most long-haul routes, like London and Paris from Beijing, were automatically reserved for Air China, although China Eastern operates to Amsterdam Schiphol from Beijing Capital International. China Eastern and China Southern will be required to move to the new airport. China Eastern and China Southern each aim to start their flights this year and will be anchor operators at Daxing. <br/>