Air France-KLM and China Eastern Airlines broaden their joint venture

PARIS (Reuters) - Air France-KLM and its stakeholder and business partner China Eastern Airlines <600115.SS> announced plans on Thursday to broaden their joint venture to take in new routes. The companies said they would add the Paris-Wuhan and Paris-Kunming routes to their network, on a code-sharing basis. "By strengthening the joint venture, our group pursues its partnership-driven Asia strategy." said Air France KLM executive Patrick Alexandre in a statement. China Eastern Airlines and Delta Airlines each hold 8.8 percent of Air France-KLM's share capital. The French government holds 14 percent, while AccorHotels has expressed interest in taking a minority stake in Air France-KLM. Air France-KLM has been looking for a new chief executive following the abrupt departure of chief executive Jean-Marc Janaillac in May, after staff rejected a pay proposal aimed at ending strikes that have resulted in heavy losses. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Dominique Vidalon)