Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius) and Air France (AF, Paris CDG) have renewed and extended their cooperation agreement in which the French will provide the Mauritians with expertise in several areas including: commercial operations, revenue management, cost management, procurement, maintenance and cost reductions, notably in terms of fuel savings. The new agreement, a continuation of the original 2008 accord, also sees Air France reaffirming its commitment to support Air Mauritius in its bid to join the Skyteam global airline alliance. "The strategic partnership agreement signed today is a continuation of Air France’s historical presence in Mauritius which it has been serving non-stop since 1946. We are strengthening our cooperation, notably by providing Air Mauritius with our enhanced expertise in various key fields. In addition, by combining our flight offerings on the Paris CDG-Mauritius route, we will be offering all our customers even more frequencies and connecting opportunities, especially from our powerful hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle," said Alexandre de Juniac, Chairman and CEO of Air France-KLM. The Mauritian national carrier has made significant strides towards returning to profitability under the stewardship of CEO Andre Viljoen. Among the key objectives of Mr Viljoen's "7-Step Turnaround Plan" for the airline is the accession to a major alliance.