SHANGHAI
- A new joint-venture partnership with China Eastern Airlines which will also
include the Air France-KLM group is being planned by Virgin Atlantic on flights
between Europe and China.
The arrangement, once ratified, will replace the
joint venture between China Eastern and Air France-KLM, which bought a 31%
stake in Virgin Atlantic earlier this year.
Codeshare
flights are expected to launch early next year.
Virgin
Atlantic chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen said, “Our intention to enter
into a joint venture with China Eastern and Air France-KLM truly emphasises our
commitment to China and our growing portfolio in the Far East.
“We have
a strong heritage of flying to China and I’m delighted this announcement comes
as we celebrate 20 years of flying between London and Shanghai.”