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Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic to Form Joint Venture

July 27, 2017
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3 min read
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Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic to Form Joint Venture
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This just in — Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic have created a four-way joint venture. On top of this, Delta and China Eastern will each acquire a 10% stake in Air France-KLM.

To establish the joint venture, Air France-KLM will acquire Virgin Group’s 31% stake in Virgin Atlantic for £220 million, reducing the British-owned stake of one of the UK's most famous brands from 51% to 20%. Despite this, Virgin Atlantic will retain its independence as a British airline with a UK air operating certificate, and will continue to fly under the Virgin brand. Furthermore, Delta and China Eastern (who are already joint venture partners) will each acquire a 10% stake in Air France-KLM worth €751 million.

In a statement about the newly-announced agreement, Richard Branson said, "I’m delighted to say that we’ve agreed with Air France-KLM and Delta our collective intention to form a four way strategic joint venture, which will be extremely beneficial to our airline, our customers and the brand we all love so dearly. We’ve also agreed with our partners how important it is the Virgin Atlantic brand lives on as part of our arrangement." For Delta, this new agreement is an enhancement of its long-standing joint venture with Air France-KLM, which dates back to 2009, with the addition of Alitalia in 2010.

This joint venture will offer passengers more convenient flight schedules thanks to added frequencies, and the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers. This means that Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members will be able to earn and redeem when flying on Air France-KLM, which hasn't been possible before.

The benefits of the new venture also include co-location of facilities at key airport hubs to improve connectivity times for customers. It's still too early to know the specifics, but it's likely that there will be a shuffling of airlines in Atlanta (ATL), Paris (CDG) and London (LHR) to reflect the new relationship. For example, at LHR, we'll most likely see Air France-KLM move its operations to Terminal 3, which is already home to Delta and Virgin Atlantic.

Thanks to this new relationship, there will be more than 300 daily nonstop transatlantic flights among the four airlines connecting key markets for the airlines including Amsterdam (AMS), Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), Cincinnati (CVG), Detroit (DTW), Los Angeles (LAX), London-Heathrow (LHR), Minneapolis-St Paul (MSP), New York-Kennedy (JFK), Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Salt Lake City (SLC) and Seattle (SEA).

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Bottom Line

This is great news for passengers — four huge players in the industry are deepening their relationship to provide more flights, increased frequencies, and more ways to earn and redeem miles across all four airlines. Since Delta, Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance,the ability to earn and redeem miles on each other's flights already exists. This means that Virgin Atlantic flyers will notice the biggest changes, as their tickets, miles and status currently have no connection whatsoever with Air France or KLM. Passengers will be pleased, too, when the airlines complete co-location at key hubs, as connections will be much smoother and it will give passengers greater access to the combined networks of the four airlines. Stay tuned to TPG for more coverage of this developing story.

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Why We Chose It

There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)

Pros

  • 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
  • 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
  • Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
  • Solid welcome bonus

Cons

  • Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Terms Apply.