SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld, respectively. Its annual passenger count is 624 million customers (2024),[1] the second largest of the three major alliances.[5][6][7]As of October2024[update], SkyTeam consists of 19 active carriers; it also operates a cargo alliance named SkyTeam Cargo, which partners with ten carriers, all SkyTeam members. Its centralised management team, SkyTeam Central, is based in Amstelveen, Netherlands.[2]
On 22 June 2000, representatives of Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico, Air France, and Korean Air held a meeting in New York to form a third airline alliance.[8] These became the four founding carriers of SkyTeam. Upon its formation, SkyTeam would offer its customers 6,402 daily flights to 451 destinations in 98 countries. In September2000(2000-09), the alliance established a cargo alliance, SkyTeam Cargo. The group's inaugural members were Aeromexpress, Air France Cargo, Delta Air Logistics and Korean Air Cargo.[8] The following month, the newly established airline alliance announced its intentions to incorporate CSA Czech Airlines as the 5th member in April of the following year.[9]
The alliance saw the joining of CSA Czech Airlines on 25 March 2001;[10]Alitalia entered SkyTeam on 27 July the same year,[11] with its membership scheduled to become effective 1 November that year.[12] On 30 September 2001, the alliance received KLM's application for membership, following the airline's plans to create a leading airline group with Air France.[13] In 2003, Delta's subsidiary, Delta Express, was replaced by Song.[14][15] That same year, SkyTeam also launched an improved website focused on providing passengers with more information, increased interactivity and other resources.[16]
2000s: First major expansion, departure of airlines and new initiatives
On 24 May 2004, Aeroflot signed a memorandum of understanding with SkyTeam as it intended to become a full member. The event took place in the Kremlin following the airline's application earlier in the year for membership.[17][18] SkyTeam expressed that Aeroflot has not met the consortium's standards, but that the airline's large hub networks made it ideal for the alliance, and made up for its deficiencies.[19]
On 28 August, China Southern Airlines, the largest carrier in the People's Republic of China, signed a preliminary agreement in Guangzhou in its bid to become a full member.[20] In the presence of some Chinese and airline officials, Yan Zhiqing, the chairman of China Southern Airlines, said, "This agreement-signing event is an important step forward into the future for China Southern Airlines to adapt itself to the need of further reforms and opening to the international community, as it will strengthen the airline's international cooperation and global competitiveness."
On 13 September, Continental Airlines, KLM and Northwest Airlines joined the alliance.[21][22] Their simultaneous entry was the largest expansion event in airline alliance history. As a result of the three new members, SkyTeam surpassed Oneworld to become the second largest airline alliance, serving more than 341million customers with 14,320 daily flights to 658 destinations in 130 countries.[21]
Even though member CSA Czech Airlines pledged to help Malév Hungarian Airlines become an associate member of the alliance (as opposed to a full member, an associate has no voting rights), Malév Hungarian Airlines opted to join the Oneworld airline alliance, signing a memorandum of understanding late in May. A few days later, SkyTeam announced four new associate members due to join by 2006, each one being "sponsored" by an existing member: Madrid-based Air Europa (sponsored by Air France), Panama-based Copa Airlines (sponsored and partly owned by Continental Airlines), Kenya Airways (sponsored and partly owned by KLM) and Romania's TAROM (sponsored by Alitalia).[23] Every associate adopted a frequent-flyer program of a full member: Copa Airlines already used Continental'sOnePass;[24] Kenya Airways and Air Europa used Air France–KLM'sFlying Blue.[25]
Following a 23-month joining process since May2004(2004-05),[26] Aeroflot joined on 14 April 2006.[27] It was the first Russian airline to be associated with any airline alliance.[28][29] Aeroflot had increased its operational standards, passing International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). Delta's subsidiary Song continued to operate as Delta Air Lines.[30] In June, it was announced that Portugália would become the alliance's next associate member candidate.[31] However, in November, rival airline and Star Alliance member TAP Air Portugal, purchased 99.81% of the airline, bringing a sudden end to its candidacy.[32]
On 4 September 2007, Air Europa, Copa Airlines,[nb 1] and Kenya Airways became members of SkyTeam's Associate program,[33] which was launched to serve airlines in strategic regions which intended to become affiliated with the alliance.[34][35] China Southern Airlines joined SkyTeam on 15 November to become the 11th full member and the first carrier from China to join the alliance.[36][37]
In June2008(2008-06),[38] following an agreement between Continental Airlines and United Airlines,[39] the former, as well as Copa Airlines, announced their intentions to move to Star Alliance after Continental's final flight with SkyTeam on 24 October 2009.[40][41][42] That day, as announced, Continental Airlines and Copa Airlines simultaneously left SkyTeam.[43][44] Continental Airlines joined Star Alliance three days later;[45] at the time, it was rumored that the switch was Continental's initial move in a United-Continental merger.[46]
In April2009(2009-04), the alliance signed a preliminary agreement with Vietnam Airlines for the airline to become a full member in 2010.[47] Also in 2009, Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane re-launched operations as the new Alitalia,[48] and the alliance announced initiatives towards a centralized management based in Amsterdam.[49] The consortium also named a new managing director, Marie-Joseph Malé, outlined a timeline for the opening of its co-located facilities at London Heathrow Airport, and unveiled a new special livery.[49]
In September2009(2009-09), Olympic Air entered into a codeshare agreement with Delta, a deal that was part of Olympic's intention to join SkyTeam and engage in further discussions with Delta's joint venture partner Air France–KLM.[50][51][52][53] However, ties were cut in 2013 after Star Alliance member Aegean Airlines acquired Olympic Air.
2010s: Second major expansion and tenth anniversary
To start 2010, Northwest Airlines' and Delta Air Lines' operating certificates were officially combined on 1 January,[54] while on 9 March, China Southern Airlines announced its plans to join SkyTeam Cargo.[55][56][57] With membership expected to be granted in November the same year, the airline was to be the first Chinese carrier to join a global air cargo alliance.[55] On 16 April China Eastern Airlines announced its intention to join SkyTeam, with the official joining ceremony initially expected to occur by mid-2011.[58][59] The announcement came shortly after the airline's merger with Shanghai Airlines, a member of SkyTeam's rival Star Alliance.
On 10 June, Vietnam Airlines became a full member following a joining ceremony held in Hanoi.[60][61] The airline became the first SkyTeam carrier from Southeast Asia, where Star Alliance has a strong presence through Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways International. With an extra 20 unique destinations added to SkyTeam's route map, Vietnam Airlines helped to strengthen the alliance's foothold in the region.[60]
On 22 June, the CEOs and chairmen of the 13 member airlines gathered in New York to celebrate the alliance's 10th anniversary.[62] During its first decade of operation, the world's second-largest airline alliance more than tripled its membership, doubled its flights and nearly doubled its destinations.[63] On the same day, SkyTeam announced that it had renewed its membership program, thereby upgrading Air Europa, Kenya Airways and TAROM statuses from associate to full members.[64] During the ceremony, the Board outlined its plans to recruit members from Latin America, South America and India.[63] Three days later, TAROM officially became the 13th SkyTeam member.[65] As a part of the celebration, SkyTeam offered reductions of round-the-world fares[66] and other promotions. Following the 10th anniversary, SkyTeam intended to enhance customers' travel experience and deepen cooperation among its members to supplement the expansion into regions that are yet to have SkyTeam members.[67]
In South America, India and Africa, it is clear there will be a significant battle for positioning to lure good carriers in your alliance.
—Leo van Wijk, chairman during a 10th anniversary event of SkyTeam[68]
During the year, Delta Air Lines offered US$1.02billion to Japan Airlines after the Asian airline filed for bankruptcy due to US$26billion debt,[69] at the same time lobbying Oneworld's largest member in Asia to switch to SkyTeam.[70] Delta, along with American Airlines, wanted Japan Airlines to be in their respective alliances to benefit from the U.S.–Japan Open Skies agreement. Eventually, Japan Airlines opted to remain at Oneworld, citing that the transfer to SkyTeam would confuse its passengers and may not gain antitrust immunity from U.S. regulators.[71]
SkyTeam received its second application for full membership within five months. China Airlines, Taiwan's flag carrier and largest airline, announced in mid-September that it had formally started the joining process.[72][73][74] Upon joining, the airline's route network supplemented those of China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines, allowing cooperation among the three airlines. The following month, Aerolíneas Argentinas signed an agreement to officially start the process of becoming the first South American SkyTeam member. The airline was set to join in 2012.[75][76][77]
On 1 November, Shanghai Airlines exited from Star Alliance to join SkyTeam in the future under its parent company, future SkyTeam member China Eastern Airlines. This bolstered SkyTeam's presence in the People's Republic of China and surrounding areas, making SkyTeam the number one alliance in the region.[78]Garuda Indonesia formally started its joining process on 23 November and was scheduled to be integrated by 2012.[79] Upon joining, the airline became the second Southeast Asian airline to join SkyTeam, therefore challenging Star Alliance's dominance in the region through Thai Airways International and Singapore Airlines.
Membership of Xiamen Airlines was activated in November2012(2012-11).
On 29 May 2012, Saudi Arabian Airlines became both the first carrier to join the alliance in 2012 and the first one based in the Middle East, which brought the total members to 16.[90][91] The same day of its incorporation, Saudi Arabian Airlines was renamed to Saudia.[92]Middle East Airlines became the 17th member of the alliance a month later, following its incorporation on 28 June 2012.[93][94] On 29 August 2012, Aerolíneas Argentinas became the first South American and the second Latin American airline in joining the alliance,[95][96] bringing the number of members to 18.[97] Following its incorporation on 21 November 2012, Xiamen Airlines became the fourth member in Mainland China,[80] with the overall number of members in the alliance rising to 19.[98][99][100] In late June2013(2013-06), the Russian newspaper Kommersant published an article that mentions that Aeroflot was considering leaving the alliance over disagreements with Delta on the pricing on some routes to North America. The report also mentioned that the Russian carrier was considering joining Star Alliance.[101] To assess the benefits of the SkyTeam membership, a study was carried out in July; following it, the Aeroflot board reaffirmed its position within the alliance in September2013(2013-09).[102]
Garuda Indonesia became the 20th member of the alliance on 5 March 2014.[103][104][105] Garuda initially expected to gain SkyTeam membership in 2012, but the joining process took 40 months to be completed.[106]
On 4 November 2019, the International Airlines Group (IAG) announced it had agreed terms to purchase Air Europa and that the airline would leave SkyTeam if the deal succeeded.[citation needed] The COVID-19 pandemic and antitrust concerns delayed the sale. Negotiations resumed in March 2022 when IAG agreed to grant Air Europa a €100 million loan convertible into a 20% stake.[108] In February 2023, negotiations were completed and IAG agreed to buy the remaining 80% stake in Air Europa (which it plans to keep as a separate brand but have managed by Iberia) for €400 million, subject to European regulatory approval.[109][110][111] In August 2024, IAG abandon the deal after deeming additional remedies to address EU antitrust conditions too onerous to make the deal viable.[112]
2020s: Third major expansion, COVID-19 pandemic and 25th anniversary
On 15 October 2021, Alitalia ceased operations, departing the alliance.[113] Its successor, ITA Airways, joined SkyTeam on 29 October 2021.[114][115] In 2023, Lufthansa, after confirming its initial acquisition of 41% of ITA Airways, said its plans included gaining total ownership of ITA's shares by 2028 and having the airline leave SkyTeam and join Star Alliance. The European Commission approved Lufthansa Group's purchase of a 41% stake in ITA Airways in July 2024.[116][117][118][119][120][121] ITA would leave SkyTeam and join Star Alliance in 2026 or 2027.[122]
In February 2022, both Delta and KLM announced plans to suspend their codesharing agreements with Aeroflot in connection with the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[123][124] Subsequently, on 27 April, SkyTeam and Aeroflot announced that Aeroflot's membership with the alliance was suspended.[125]
On 2 March 2023, Virgin Atlantic joined the alliance, making it the 19th member and the first UK airline of the alliance.[126][127]
On October 2023, as a part of the restructuring of Scandinavian Airlines' parent company SAS Group, Air France-KLM, along with the Government of Denmark and two financial firms announced plans to invest in Scandinavian Airlines. On March 2024, US Bankruptcy Court approved the investment along with Stockholm District Court in 12 June 2024 and European Commission on 28 June 2024. As a result of the approval for the investment, Scandinavian Airlines left Star Alliance on 31 August 2024 and joined SkyTeam in 1 September 2024.[128][129][130]
On 26 October 2024, Czech Airlines left SkyTeam and ceased operations following changes in operating model. The last flight arrived from Paris the following evening.[133][134][135]
SkyTeam launched a special livery in 2009, coinciding with the alliance's 10th anniversary, with Delta Air Lines being the first airline to paint one of its aircraft with these colours. The livery consisted of an all-metallic silver fuselage and a dark blue empennage with SkyTeam's logo on it. The alliance emblem is painted on both sides of the fuselage. Except Air France and Virgin Atlantic, all members’ aircraft painted in an airline's regular livery have the SkyTeam logo between the cockpit and the first set of cabin doors.[citation needed]As of August2016[update], the SkyTeam livery was worn by 52 aircraft.[152]
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM, is the flag carrier of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM group and a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Founded in 1919, KLM is the oldest operating airline in the world, and has 35,488 employees with a fleet of 110 aircraft as of 2021. KLM operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to 145 destinations.
Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A., is the state-owned flag carrier of Argentina, and the country's largest airline. The airline was created in 1949, from the merger of Aeroposta Argentina (AA), Aviación del Litoral Fluvial Argentino (ALFA), Flota Aérea Mercante Argentina (FAMA), and Zonas Oeste y Norte de Aerolíneas Argentinas (ZONDA), and started operations in December 1950. A consortium led by Iberia took control of the airline in 1990, and Grupo Marsans acquired the company and its subsidiaries in 2001, following a period of severe financial difficulties that put the airline on the brink of closure. The airline was renationalized in late 2008. It has its headquarters in Buenos Aires. The airline joined the SkyTeam alliance in August 2012; the airline's cargo division became a member of SkyTeam Cargo in November 2013.
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, West Sussex, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company to Richard Branson in return for unlimited free travel. The maiden flight from London–Gatwick to Newark took place on 22 June 1984.
Cargo airlines are airlines mainly dedicated to the transport of cargo by air. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines. In 2018, airline cargo traffic represented 262,333 million tonne-kilometres with a 49.3% load factor: 52.1% for dedicated cargo operations, and 47.9% within mixed operations.
An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level. Alliances may provide marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within countries. This branding may involve unified aircraft liveries of member aircraft.
Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Northwest Airlines was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines–US Airways merger in 2013.
Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. As of April 2024, it is also the world's largest airline alliance by market share, holding 17.4%, compared to 13.7% for SkyTeam and 11.9% for Oneworld.
Air France–KLM S.A., also known as Air France–KLM Group, is a French-Dutch multinational airline holding company with its headquarters in the rue du Cirque, Paris, France. The group’s three major brands are Air France, KLM and Transavia. Air France-KLM is the result of the merger in 2004 between Air France and KLM. Both Air France and KLM are members of the SkyTeam airline alliance. The group's main hubs are Paris–Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris Orly Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Air France-KLM Airlines transported 83 million passengers in 2022.
China Southern Airlines is a major airline in China, headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It has one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Eastern Airlines.
Air Europa Líneas Aéreas, S.A.U., branded as Air Europa, is the third-largest Spanish airline after Iberia and Vueling. The airline is headquartered in Llucmajor, Mallorca, Spain; it has its main hub at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport with focus city operations at Palma de Mallorca Airport and Tenerife North Airport. Air Europa flies to over 44 destinations in Spain, the rest of Europe, South America, North America, the Caribbean, Morocco and Tunisia. Since September 2007, Air Europa has been member of the SkyTeam alliance.
Wings Alliance was the working name of a proposed airline alliance to be anchored by the American carriers Northwest Airlines and Continental Airlines of USA with the European flag carriers KLM of the Netherlands and Italy's Alitalia. Although these airlines cooperated with one another through code-sharing and frequent flyer program coordination, no formal association was ever announced. It was rendered superfluous in September 2004 when most of its participants joined the SkyTeam alliance.
Air France, stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. As of 2013, Air France served 29 destinations in France and operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to 201 destinations in 78 countries and also carried 46,803,000 passengers in 2019. The airline's global hub is at Charles de Gaulle Airport, with Orly Airport as the primary domestic hub. Air France's corporate headquarters, previously in Montparnasse, Paris, are located at the Roissypôle complex on the grounds of Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris.
SkyTeam Cargo is a global cargo alliance in which all members are also members of the SkyTeam airline alliance. SkyTeam Cargo is the largest cargo alliance; it competes with the WOW Alliance.
Alitalia - Società Aerea Italiana S.p.A., operating as Alitalia, was an Italian airline which was once the flag carrier and largest airline of Italy. The company had its head office in Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital. The airline was owned by the Government of Italy as a nationalized business from its founding in 1946 until it was privatized in 2009. However, it struggled with profitability whilst operating as a private company, including failed negotiations to sell to other private parties. The airline entered extraordinary administration in 2017 following many years of financial losses. The Italian government eventually took back ownership of the airline in March 2020.
An inflight magazine is a free magazine distributed via the seats of an airplane, by an airline company, or in an airport lounge.
Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A., doing business as ITA Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Italy. It is owned by the government of Italy via the Ministry of Economy and Finance and was founded in 2020 as bankrupt Alitalia's successor. The airline flies to over 70 scheduled domestic, European, and intercontinental destinations. ITA is a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Its main hub is Rome Fiumicino Airport near Rome and focus city is Linate Airport near Milan. ITA Airways will leave SkyTeam and join Star Alliance as part of the process of its acquisition by Lufthansa Group.
1 2 Sobie, Brendan (11 February 2010). "Copa expects mid 2010 alliance decision". FlightGlobal. Washington, D.C.Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Copa Airlines was independent until 2005 when it became a SkyTeam associate member. Colombian sister carrier Aero Republica, which is also owned by Copa Holdings, has always been independent although like Copa it is part of Continental's OnePass frequent flier programme.
↑ Field, David (23 July 2008). "Continental's alliance switch alters balance of power in US". FlightGlobal. Airline Business. Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2012. After rejecting an outright merger with Star member United, Continental unveiled plans in June to leave SkyTeam next year and join Star.
↑ "Saudi Arabian Airlines, now known as Saudia, joins SkyTeam and adds 35 destinations". Centre for Aviation. 29 May 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012. Flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines formally joined the SkyTeam alliance on 29-May-2012, becoming the alliance's 16th global member and first member from the Middle East. The carrier also used the occasion to re-brand, adopting its old name of "Saudia".
↑ Walker, Karen (22 November 2012). "Xiamen joins SkyTeam". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 17 January 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
↑ Sobie, Brendan (10 November 2010). "Both Avianca-TACA and Copa to join Star Alliance". FlightGlobal. Miami. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Copa has been considering joining Star since 2008, when it decided to exit SkyTeam. It formally left in October 2009 with close partner and former part-owner Continental Airlines.
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