SkyBonus Becomes Official Business Loyalty Program for Delta, Air France, KLM and Alitalia in North America

AMSTERDAM, ATLANTA, PARIS and ROME, March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Air France, KLM and Alitalia today reached another significant milestone as trans-Atlantic joint-venture partners as they launched SkyBonus as the official corporate loyalty program for small and medium-size companies in North America, including Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The new SkyBonus program in North America provides small and medium size businesses the ability to turn their travel budget into travel rewards by converting the dollars spent on Delta, Air France, KLM or Alitalia into SkyBonus points.  Rewards include travel and upgrades on Delta, Air France, KLM and Alitalia; Silver Medallion status in the SkyMiles program; Delta Sky Club memberships and passes; and more.  And while companies earn SkyBonus points, their travelers can still earn miles in Delta's SkyMiles, Air France-KLM's Flying Blue, or Alitalia's MilleMiglia frequent flyer programs.

SkyBonus rewards are transferable to allow use by employees, friends or loyal clients.

"Adding an integrated program like SkyBonus to our joint venture portfolio in North America continues to enhance the one-stop shop model that this relationship brings," said Steve Sear, Delta's vice president for Global Sales.  "Members will now have better earning opportunities and more reward options in all four airlines."

To celebrate this launch, all SkyBonus members traveling on a transatlantic flight on any of the four participating carriers during the month of March will receive double points credit. Members must log-in to their online account, click on the promotions link and register for the transatlantic double points promotion.  Terms and conditions apply.*

Last December, Air France announced that no new enrollments would be accepted in their North American VoyageurREWARDS™ small business program and they would begin participation in the SkyBonus program along with KLM and Alitalia.  The SkyBonus program originated in the United States in 2001 as an exclusive Delta benefit for small- and medium-sized businesses.  Since that time, SkyBonus has expanded to more than 45 countries around the world.  

For complete details regarding the participation of Air France, KLM and Alitalia in the SkyBonus program, visit www.delta.com/skybonus.

With nearly 250 daily trans-Atlantic flights and a fleet of 144 aircraft, the joint venture between Air France-KLM, Alitalia and Delta provides customers with the benefits of a vast route network offering more frequencies, competitive fares and harmonized services on all trans-Atlantic flights. The JV network is structured around seven main hubs: Amsterdam, Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, Paris-CDG and Rome Fiumicino, together with Cincinnati, Lyon, Milan, Memphis and Salt Lake City.  The JV offers customers access to 300 destinations beyond the 26 North American gateways and 200 destinations beyond the 33 European gateways throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. The JV represents 26% of total trans-Atlantic capacity and generates $10 billion in annual revenues. Under the terms of this agreement, the joint venture partners jointly operate their trans-Atlantic routes, thereby sharing revenues and costs.

About Alitalia

Alitalia - Compagnia Aerea Italiana started operations in January 2009, following the acquisition of assets from Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane, and of Air One. Today Alitalia is Italy's leading airline, serving over 23 million passengers with its 149 aircrafts fleet across a network of 79 destinations. In 2010 Alitalia positioned Air One as a low fares, yet high quality carrier operating from the Milan Malpensa airport. Alitalia is a member of the SkyTeam alliance. Further information is available on www.alitalia.com.

About Air France-KLM

AIR FRANCE KLM, the result of a merger between AIR FRANCE and KLM in 2004, is one of the leading European air transport groups. Its main activities are the air transport of passengers and cargo as well as aircraft maintenance. In 2009-10, AIR FRANCE KLM carried 71.4 million passengers. The group's fleet comprises 594 aircraft. Its network covers 244 destinations in 106 countries from its hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol. The Flying Blue frequent flyer programme is leader in Europe and has over 17 million members.

With their partners Delta and Alitalia, AIR FRANCE and KLM operate the biggest transatlantic joint venture with close to 250 daily flights. AIR FRANCE and KLM are members of the SkyTeam alliance which has 13 member airlines, offering customers access to a global network of over 12,500 daily flights to 898 destinations in 169 countries.  For more information, corporate.airfrance.com and www.klm.com.

About Delta

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 357 destinations in 66 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 75,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world's largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $2 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.

*Terms and Conditions

To qualify for the SkyBonus promotion, your company must 1) have a valid SkyBonus account, 2) register in the promotion between March 1, 2011 and March 31, 2011, and 3) fly on any trans-Atlantic flights on Delta, Air France, KLM and Alitalia from March 1, 2011 through March 31, 2011. Only flights flown after registering in the promotion will be considered. All SkyBonus program rules apply to SkyBonus program membership, points, offers, point accrual, point redemption and travel benefits. The rules are subject to change. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/skybonus. Taxes and fees for award travel are the responsibility of the passenger and must be paid at the time the ticket is booked. Award travel seats and complimentary upgrades are limited and may not be available on all flights or in all markets. All SkyMiles program, Flying Blue program, and MilleMiglia program rules apply, respectively. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/memberguide, www.airfrance.us, and http://alitalia.com/US_EN/millemiglia. All Delta Sky Club rules apply to club membership and use. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/skyclub. Offers and benefits subject to change without notice.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines