Kenya Airways temporarily suspends its joint venture with Air France-KLM
The terms of the joint venture agreement between Kenya Airways (KQ) and Air France-KLM will no longer apply for a while. The Kenyan national carrier and the Franco-Dutch group, partners of the SkyTeam alliance, have decided to temporarily suspend this joint venture (JV), reveals Aviation Week, in its November 18 release.
"We agreed by mutual agreement to suspend this JV for a certain time, to allow us to continue to monitor the traffic, and to wait for a better period", justifies KQ.
Since last year, the Kenyan company wanted to renegotiate the cost and revenue sharing agreement as part of the deal. The carrier was also planning to discuss its ability to enter into agreements with other airlines, a flexibility not afforded by the terms of the current joint venture. Kenya Airways, in the process of nationalization, has split off all Air France-KLM employees, including former operations manager Jan de Vegt, and replaced them with locals.
Remember that the joint venture between Kenya Airways and KLM has existed since 1995. Air France joined forces on March 25, 2018, the date of the launch of its Paris - Nairobi route. Since then, customers of the three companies have benefited from "a harmonized travel experience between Europe and East Africa through three hubs - Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam-Schiphol and Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta - and of improved connectivity” to more than twenty destinations beyond Nairobi.
