KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and its SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines will substantially expand their codesharing agreement
AMSTELVEEN – The agreement is to include new destinations on both sides of the Atlantic from the start of the winter schedule on October 29, 2006.
The new agreement will give KLM codeshare access to 29 additional destinations in the Delta network, which will be available through Delta’s hubs at Atlanta and New York JFK. The flights in question are operated by Delta in collaboration with its regional partners Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Comair.
The new destinations include 28 cities in Delta’s domestic network, as well as Santiago de Chile, which will be served via Atlanta. The latter offers KLM passengers an alternative route to the Chilean capital, which is already available for them by Air France via Paris Charles de Gaulle.
[GADS_NEWS]Sixteen of the 28 US destinations are completely new to KLM. They are not served by any of KLM’s other US codesharing partners.
“Thanks to our SkyTeam membership, we can regularly expand the KLM network for our customers by extending codesharing with fellow SkyTeam members,” says Hans de Roos, KLM’s senior vice president Alliances. “After initiating codesharing with Delta in July of this year, we are now taking the next important step in this cooperative venture.”
Because KLM and Delta are both SkyTeam members, passengers at the new codeshare destinations will also have access to e-ticket interlining and through-check-in, which ensures that (digital) boarding passes are also pre-issued for Delta’s connecting flights, and that baggage is labeled through to the final destination. Members of the Flying Blue loyalty program can also earn and redeem credits on the new Delta operated codeshared flights.
