Air France-KLM (AFKLM) today announces a further major step in the strengthening of its strategic partnerships with, firstly, the creation of a single global joint-venture between AFKLM, Delta Air Lines (Delta) and Virgin Atlantic (Virgin) and, secondly, the strengthening of its partnership with China Eastern Airlines (China Eastern). These two commercial alliances will be strengthened by equity investments:

> AFKLM will acquire Virgin Group’s 31% stake in Virgin Atlantic for around £220 million.
> Delta and China Eastern will each acquire a 10% stake in AFKLM by subscribing new shares through capital increases totalling €751 million.

The strategic, commercial and capitalistic reinforcement of these partnerships will position AFKLM as the European pillar of the leading global airline network.

At the heart of the most global partnership in the airline industry

AFKLM, Delta and Virgin today signed a Memorandum of Understanding laying the foundations for a future combination of the existing joint-ventures between firstly AFKLM, Delta and Alitalia, and secondly between Delta and Virgin, within a single joint-venture. This step will mark the expansion and strengthening of one of the most advanced partnership models in the airline industry. Subject to the signature of the definitive agreements and the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities, this joint-venture will enable the Group to:

> Offer customers an unrivaled proposition on the trans-Atlantic axis,
> Drive the capacity growth of the partners,
> Create an associate partner status enabling the inclusion of other players at a later stage,
> Establish a partnership over a 15-year period,
> Generate significant synergies within the joint-venture thanks to new code shares to/from London, sales coordination, the extended partnership and cost savings.

The creation of this joint-venture will thus consolidate AFKLM’s leadership position in the North-American and European markets with the largest airline network articulated around twelve powerful hubs on both sides of the Atlantic: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Los Angeles, London Heathrow, Minneapolis-St Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-CDG, Salt Lake City and Seattle.

In parallel, Air France-KLM and China Eastern will step up their commercial cooperation and reinforce their partnership within the framework of the existing joint-venture, to:

- Secure and reinforce AFKLM’s presence in the Chinese market thanks to a long-term partnership.

- GiveAFKLM a European leadership position on Shanghai, the main business market in China.

- Improve the services for our customers.

- Enable increased cooperation in terms of the network, pricing and operational synergies

The strengthening of this cooperation will take place in accordance with the partnership strategy of Delta, which already holds a 3.2% stake in China Eastern Airlines Corporation Limited. This cooperation does not call into question the current joint-ventures between the AFKLM Group and China Southern.

All of these agreements with Delta, Virgin Atlantic and China Eastern Airlines will enable AFKLM to offer its customers an expanded network and to capitalize on the pooling of extensive distribution networks. As an integral part of the Trust Together strategic plan, these partnerships will support the Group’s profitable growth and enable AFKLM to offer its customers an unparalleled proposition.