ATLANTA, PARIS and ROME, May 19,
2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The members of the leading
trans-Atlantic joint venture – Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Air
France KLM (OTC: AFLYY) and Alitalia – today announced a
year-over-year 7 to 9 percent reduction in trans-Atlantic passenger
capacity this fall between Europe
and the United States and
Canada, as the airlines respond to
a significant increase in jet fuel prices and fluctuating seasonal
demand.
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"Our alliance allows us to make strategic decisions about our
network and operate as a single airline on trans-Atlantic flights,"
said Bruno Matheu, executive vice
president – Marketing, Revenue Management and Network for Air
France KLM. "Combining our efforts, we are able to leverage the
benefits of the joint venture to respond to economic and external
cost pressures."
The four member airlines will adjust their combined network and
decrease capacity by reducing frequency on selected routes during
the fall and winter seasons and right-sizing the joint venture
fleet across the Atlantic while introducing seasonal flying to warm
weather destinations.
"With the most established joint venture across the Atlantic, we
are in a unique position to collaborate with our JV partners to
make full use of our combined fleet and networks to generate
healthy returns and consistently serve our customers," said
Perry Cantarutti, Delta's senior
vice president – Europe,
Middle East and Africa.
Since its inception, the joint venture has made significant
progress in building a leading trans-Atlantic alliance. Its
achievements include the introduction of more than 5,000 joint
sales contracts for trade and corporate partners across
Europe and the U.S., and the
formation of joint pricing and revenue management units, which
strengthen its competitive position on the trans-Atlantic.
The alliance also has consolidated reservation sales
responsibilities in Europe and the
U.S., co-located commercial and operating teams and airport
facilities, unified signage in more than 400 airports and combined
marketing and advertising.
About the Joint Venture:
With more than 260 daily trans-Atlantic flights and a fleet of
144 aircraft, the joint venture between Air France KLM, Alitalia
and Delta Air Lines provides customers with the benefits of a vast
route network offering more frequencies, competitive fares and
harmonized services on all trans-Atlantic flights. The JV network
is structured around seven main hubs: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, Paris-CDG and Rome
Fiumicino, together with Cincinnati, Lyon, Milan,
Memphis and Salt Lake City. The JV offers customers
access to 300 destinations beyond the 26 North American gateways
and 200 destinations beyond the 33 European gateways throughout
Europe, Asia and Latin
America. The JV represents 27 percent of total
trans-Atlantic capacity and generates $11
billion in annual revenues. Under the terms of this
agreement, the partners jointly operate their trans-Atlantic
routes, thereby sharing revenues and costs. More information on Air
France KLM, Alitalia and Delta is available at their respective
corporate websites.
SOURCE Delta Air Lines