Airline Alliances

Airline Alliances are agreements formed by several airlines to establish a cooperation in the global aviation industry. This cooperation helps the airlines better their performance with respect to air transport and customer service. Though the degree of cooperation differs between alliances, an airline alliance is definitely more helpful for small airlines.

There are three major international airline alliances namely SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld. One of the modern alliance is that formed by cargo airlines. This alliance is known as WOW Alliance. Details about each alliance is given below:

• SkyTeam: SkyTeam transports more than 400 million passengers every year and serves about 845 destinations. Its members include Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Continental Airlines, Czech Airlines, KLM, Delta Airlines, Korean Air and a few other carriers. The alliance covers a large number of cities in every continent of the world.

• Star Alliance: It serves more than 900 destinations and transports about 455 million passengers every year. Among the members of this alliance are Air Canada, Air China, Austrian Airlines, BMI, Lufthansa, South African Airways, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International airlines, Turkish Airlines, US Airways and United Airlines. Star Alliance has reached destinations in US and Canada, South America, Central America, Mexico, The Caribbean, Europe, Middle East and Australia.
  
  
• Oneworld: Transporting about 320 million passengers every year, this alliance has reached more than 600 destinations. The members of Oneworld include British Airways, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, LAN, Qantas, Japan Airlines, Malev and Royal Jordanian Airlines. Oneworld serves destinations in US and Canada, Central America, South America, The Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and Australia.

Airline alliances provides the member airlines with a number of benefits. These include Code Sharing Agreements and cost reductions with respect to operations, maintenance, investments and purchases. Benefits that can be enjoyed by travelers include lower airfares, increase in the options of departure times, availability of flights to a greater number of destinations, reduced travel time and various special offers.

Airline alliances create a global network that can be used by airlines as well as air travelers. With the help of these airline alliances, airlines can reach a large number of destinations and extend their services to passengers worldwide.