Amsterdam, June 24, 2002 å- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Spanish airline Air Europa today signed a commercial agreement for codesharing and loyalty program cooperation. For both airlines this means an important extension of their route networks.
From July 1, 2002, KLM passengers will have access to 11 new destinations in Spain, which are linked to KLM’s scheduled flights to and from Madrid and Barcelona through connecting Air Europa flights to and from these destinations. The new KLM codeshare destinations in Spain are: Bilbao, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Malaga, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela, Seville and Tenerife (Norte Los Rodeos and Sur Reina Sofia). The new codesharing flights will be sold via the CRS systems from June 25, for flight operations from July 1 2002.

As per August 1, 2002, members of KLM’s frequent flyer programme Flying Dutchman can earn and spend their points on these and many other flights of the Air Europa network, while members of Air Europa’s frequent flyer programme Fidelitas can earn and spend their points on the entire KLM network (except the flights operated to Havana, Santo Domingo and Caracas).

Fernando Bessa, General Manager of KLM in Spain and Portugal commented: “We feel very proud of our codesharing agreement and close collaboration in our loyalty program with Air Europa. We consider it an important milestone for our customers and Company, and specifically for KLM Spain. Through this agreement we are again adding value to our product in the Iberian peninsula, by including highly demanded destinations.” Bessa added: “We are very confident that this new relationship will enhance our growth in the Iberian peninsula.”

“I am very satisfied with the agreement reached with KLM. It represents an additional step in achieving more and better advantages for our customers in Spain” declared Manuel Panadero, General Manager of Air Europa.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (www.klm.com) and its partners serve over 360 cities in about 80 countries on six continents. The KLM Group operates a fleet with of 150 aircraft and has its homebase on Amsterdam Schiphol in the Netherlands, one of the world’s most modern hub airports. KLM is the core airline of the KLM Group, further comprising KLM cityhopper, KLM uk, and Transavia. KLM and Northwest Airlines operate the world’s most integrated airline alliance. Through this alliance and close cooperation with a wide range of European and intercontinental network and route partners, KLM offers passengers and shippers more than 113,000 city-pair connections throughout the world via hubs in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.

KLM, the world’s oldest airline still operating under its original name, has built a solid reputation worldwide as a leading carrier in its core business activities, the transportation of passengers and cargo, and Engineering & Maintenance. In fiscal 2001/2002 KLM carried about 16 million passengers and almost 500,000 tons of cargo.

Air Europa is one of the most important airlines in the Iberian Peninsula. It has a fleet composed of third generation Boeings with an average age of two years. Air Europa has its hubs in Madrid, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. The Company flies to the most important Spanish and European cities; it also operates daily scheduled flights to Latin-American cities such as Havana, Caracas and Santo Domingo. Air Europa belongs to Globalia Corporación, one of the most important tourist and transport groups in Spain.

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