The Air France KLM Group and Delta Air Lines have entered into a long-term joint venture whereby the partners will jointly operate their transatlantic business by coordinating operations and sharing the revenue and costs of their transatlantic route network. Northwest Airlines has had a similar agreement with Air France/KLM since 1997; Air France and Delta signed a joint venture agreement in 2007 and this new joint venture will streamline those partnerships. The network will offer 200 flights and approximately 50,000 seats daily from six main hubs: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York and Paris, together with Cincinnati, Lyon, Memphis and Salt Lake City. Wherever permitted, and mostly between the United States and the European Union, flights will be mutually codeshared.

So, get accustomed to seeing Air France, KLM and Delta brands combined in advertising and marketing–and more importantly for frequent flyers, according to a recent joint press release, “Governance of the joint venture will be equally shared between the Air France KLM Group and Delta. An executive committee comprising the three CEOs and a management committee comprising representatives from Marketing, Network, Sales, Alliances, Finance and Operations will define strategy. Ten working groups will be responsible for implementing and managing the agreement in the sectors of network, revenue management, sales, product, frequent flyer, advertising/brand, cargo, operations, IT and finance.” The partnerships are a long-term arrangement that can only be cancelled with a three-year notice, after an initial term of 10 years.