Two of Europe’s leading airport groups are joining forces.
The BBC is reporting that Aeroports de Paris (ADP) and the Schiphol Group of the Netherlands have formed an alliance in which each has bought stakes in the other.
The French government is selling about 8 percent of ADP to the Schiphol Group for $700 million. In return, ADP is buying an 8 percent stake in the Schiphol Group, for around $500 million.
The Schiphol Group obviously are the owners of Amsterdam’s airport, one of Europe’s busiest. ADP owns Paris Charles de Gaulle and Orly.
What’s going on here? Both companies are looking to combat dropping passenger numbers by operating as a dual hub. What this means for travelers is that there will be more synergy across the airports in terms of flight cooperation. Simply put: passengers will have access to more flights to more destinations.
And the tie up is expected to save each company millions.
In some respects, this is just a tightening of a relationship that is already pretty strong, through the airline Air France-KLM, which operates heavily between both countries.