Air France-KLM says airports key to future success

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Air France-KLM says airports key to future success  =

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Sunday May 9, 2:00 PM EDT =


PARIS, May 9 (Reuters) - Access to Paris and Amsterdam airports will be k=
ey to the success of last week's marriage between Air France and Dutch ai=
rline KLM, Air France-KLM (AIRF) Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta has said.

Spinetta said in an interview with Le Figaro daily, released on Sunday ah=
ead of publication, that accepting new members including KLM into the Sky=
team alliance would be important for the future of the airline grouping.

"I am certain that Europe is going to suffer very soon from a lack of qua=
lity airport structures," Spinetta said, when asked why he was confident =
the newly merged Air France-KLM airline would be a success.

"We will therefore be very fortunate in being able to match the potential=
 of Roissy and Schipol (airports) with the competence of our two great co=
mpanies," he said, adding that the newly unified airline would carry more=
 weight and be better able to assure jobs.

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He accepted that Skyteam, already the world's third biggest airline allia=
nce, would become more difficult to manage once KLM, Continental and Nort=
hwest (NWAC) come on board, as he expects, in September 2004.

"The functioning (of the alliance) does risk becoming more complicated," =
he said. "We have to find a way of managing it; everything remains to be =
invented. It is a very important issue for the future."

Asked whether Skyteam, which already includes Delta (DAL), Aeromexico and=
 Korean Air among other airlines, would one day welcome a low-cost operat=
or, Spinetta said the group already had one in the form of KLM affiliate,=
 Basicair.

Air France's takeover of KLM to create the world's top airline by revenue=
s was completed last week. =



=A92004 Reuters Limited. =


Roger
EWROPS

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