Atlanta’s Delta Air Lines Inc. has signed a new agreement with two old partners across the Atlantic as part of a plan to link all three more closely together.
Delta has separate tie-ups with French and Dutch joint venture Air France-KLM and United Kingdom-based Virgin Atlantic, the latter in which Delta owns a 49 percent stake.
The three partners this week inked a new agreement on how to govern a relationship that will be increasingly intertwined when Air France-KLM completes its previously announced purchase of 31 percent of Virgin Atlantic shares for €220 million (about $259.5 million). The British airline will retain 20 percent of its shares and its board chairmanship. Delta will keep its 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic.
The hope is that deeper collaboration will lead to better service, access and choice for transatlantic passengers. The deal is contingent on government approvals.
