Delta, Korean, AF-KLM Take 25% Stake in WestJet

Published on Oct 24, 2025, 1:33 pm CDT

4 min read

Key points

Onex and WestJet closed the sale of a 25 percent stake to Delta, Korean Air, and Air France-KLM
Delta acquired 15 percent then transferred 2.3 percent to Air France-KLM and now holds 12.7 percent
Korean Air acquired a 10 percent stake
Onex retains control with 75 percent ownership
The closing followed agreements first announced in May and completed on October 22, 2025

WestJet and majority owner Onex Partners have completed the sale of a 25 percent minority stake to three SkyTeam airlines, a move designed to deepen the Canadian carrier's global reach and formalize long-standing partnerships. The closing on October 22, 2025, finalizes agreements first announced in May and assigns 15 percent to Delta Air Lines and 10 percent to Korean Air, with Delta immediately transferring a 2.3 percent portion of its stake to Air France-KLM. Onex retains a controlling 75 percent interest. For travelers, the near-term change is subtle, but it sets the stage for broader codeshares, tighter schedules, and more seamless loyalty benefits on trips that link Canada with the United States, Europe, and Asia.

WestJet equity sale, traveler context

Under the completed structure, Delta holds 12.7 percent of WestJet, Korean Air holds 10 percent, and Air France-KLM holds 2.3 percent. WestJet remains under Onex control, which matters because day-to-day strategy and labor, fleet, and pricing decisions still sit with the existing owner and management team. What changes is alignment: three global network airlines that already interline and codeshare with WestJet now have skin in the game, increasing incentives to coordinate schedules, reciprocal benefits, and customer experience across hubs such as Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Atlanta, Georgia, Seoul, South Korea, and Paris, France.

Latest developments

The closing follows the original May announcement that outlined a combined purchase price of about $ 550,000,000.00 (USD), split between Delta's 15 percent and Korean Air's 10 percent, with a subsequent 2.3 percent transfer from Delta to Air France-KLM at closing. The parties confirmed on October 22-23 that the transactions had cleared and were complete. WestJet emphasized continuity of control at Onex and framed the new shareholders as strategic partners rather than new owners.

Analysis

For WestJet customers, the immediate wins are most likely to appear in booking flows and connection quality. More markets can be sold on a single ticket with through-check of baggage, misconnect protection, and coordinated minimum connection times, especially over U.S. and Asian gateways where WestJet's own metal is limited. Expect fuller codeshare overlays on Delta's U.S. network and Korean Air's transpacific portfolio, plus more consistent earning and redemption pathways with Air France-KLM's Flying Blue on Canada-Europe itineraries. Air France-KLM's recent North America expansion, for example, has focused on leisure-heavy U.S. markets, and a closer tie with WestJet gives Flying Blue members additional Canadian feed to those long-haul departures.

Regulatory history is instructive. A proposed Delta-WestJet joint venture was withdrawn in 2020 amid slot and competition concerns, and today's equity structure stops well short of a metal-neutral joint venture, which would require fresh approvals and remedies. Instead, ownership alignment without control can still produce traveler-visible benefits, including harmonized schedules, shared lounge access through alliances or bilateral agreements, and aligned irregular-operations support. Loyalty remains a swing factor. As program links deepen, watch for clearer earning charts, status-match campaigns, and expanded credit-card transfer options that make mixed-carrier itineraries more attractive than stitching together separate one-ways.

From a network standpoint, WestJet's post-pandemic strategy has concentrated capacity in Western Canada and rebuilt long-haul selectively through Calgary while pruning in Eastern Canada. The new investors supply complementary reach: Delta's U.S. domestic and transatlantic strength, Korean Air's Seoul hub for one-stop Asia access from the Prairies and West Coast, and Air France-KLM's dual-hub coverage in Paris and Amsterdam. Over the next schedule seasons, look for earlier-morning feeder departures into U.S. hubs to improve Europe-bound connections, added late-evening U.S. returns to protect westbound misconnects into Calgary, and packaged fares that price more competitively against itineraries requiring self-connections.

Background Codeshare and interline agreements let airlines sell each other's flights on one ticket, unify baggage handling, and coordinate customer recovery during disruptions. Equity ties do not automatically grant antitrust immunity or joint pricing rights, but they do align incentives to invest in co-branded products, reciprocal lounge access, and synchronized schedules that reduce missed connections. For travelers, this usually shows up as more one-stop city pairs in search results, fewer separate confirmations, and clearer loyalty earning and redemption.

Final thoughts

The stake sale gives WestJet three motivated partners without changing who runs the airline, a balance that should translate into gradually better connections and clearer loyalty reciprocity across North America, Europe, and Asia. As timetables and program charts update through winter and spring, travelers booking mixed-carrier itineraries should see more one-ticket options, tighter connections, and improved disruption support across the combined networks.