Air France-KLM and Air Europa (UX, Palma de Mallorca) are set to deepen their existing commercial ties through a tentative joint-venture agreement covering Europe and Central/South America.

The three Skyteam members' current partnership dates back over 15 years and involves codesharing on each other's European services out of Paris CDG, Amsterdam Schiphol, and Madrid Barajas.

A statement issued on Wednesday, August 1, said the parties were currently conducting an integral analysis of the joint venture given the complementarity of their respective networks from/to Central and South America. Preliminary results show it would provide significant additional benefits to customers in the form of improved connectivity, increased seat availability and a basis to launch new routes and direct flights between the two continents.

The Franco-Dutch carrier group also has strategic partnerships with Virgin Atlantic for transatlantic flights (although discussions over strategic cooperation on travel to other parts of the world are underway), GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes in Brazil, China Eastern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, and China Southern Airlines in China, and Qantas in Australasia. However, during a recent company presentation in Paris, Air France-KLM ceased mentioning Alitalia as a joint-venture partner with plans to no longer include the Italian carrier in the combined new transatlantic joint venture to include Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic going forward.