This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Air France and KLM Chiefs Talk of U.S. Plan October 3, 2003 By EDWARD WONG The chief executives of Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, who plan to merge their companies, said yesterday that they might ask the Justice Department to permit Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines to join them in one large trans-Atlantic marketing partnership. But they said they would not seek additional immunity from antitrust laws. During an interview in Manhattan, Jean-Cyril Spinetta and Leo M. van Wijk, the chief executives of Air France and KLM, discussed their intentions regarding Delta and Northwest. Delta and Air France are the founding members of the SkyTeam code-share alliance. They also have antitrust immunity, which gives them great leeway to coordinate flights and pricing without being brought up on charges of anticompetitive practices. Northwest and KLM have their own alliance, which has antitrust immunity. Antitrust immunity among all four carriers would be the "best situation," Mr. Spinetta said, but the European executives will not ask for that right now. At most, they will ask the Justice Department to permit the four airlines to form a single code-sharing alliance, possibly under the SkyTeam umbrella, he and Mr. van Wijk said. In such an alliance, airlines can sell seats on one another's flights and passengers can choose which frequent-flier program is credited for the miles flown. Both chief executives indicated that they thought American regulators would not favor giving antitrust immunity to all four airlines. Air France and KLM said on Tuesday that they had agreed to merge into a holding company to be called Air France-KLM, forming the world's largest airline by revenue. The two airlines would operate separately. The Dutch government and two Dutch foundations would have majority voting rights over the KLM subsidiary for three years. Air France and KLM will submit the merger and related marketing partnerships to European and American regulators for approval at the end of the month. They said they expected responses six to eight weeks after that. "The U.S. government, one hopes, sees that the airline industry has to consolidate," Mr. Spinetta said. Mr. van Wijk added that "we have no guarantees" when it comes to obtaining approval from regulators. Rivals of the two airlines have called for regulators to scrutinize the merger and any related alliances for anticompetitive issues. Jeff Angel, a spokesman for British Airways, said yesterday, "We're encouraging regulators to give it the same scrutiny that was given to British Airways and American Airlines when we applied for antitrust immunity." That application was rejected twice by regulators in the United States. The two airlines, though, received approval in May for a code-sharing alliance. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/03/business/worldbusiness/03AIR.html?ex=1066188392&ei=1&en=07458a682d685a30 --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact onlinesales@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to help@xxxxxxxxxxxx Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company