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The 3 major airline alliances and the current fleet size of their home carriers (excluding subsidiaries, cargo and connecting partners) as of September 2024
  Star Alliance
  SkyTeam
  Oneworld

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.[1]

In 2015, Star Alliance was the largest with 23% of total scheduled traffic in Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs)/revenue passenger miles (RPMs), followed by SkyTeam with 20.4% and Oneworld with 17.8%, leaving 38.8% for others.[2] In 2019, by number of passengers, Star Alliance was leading 762 million,[3] followed by SkyTeam (630 million)[4] and Oneworld (535 million).[5]

Rationale

Benefits can consist of an extended network, often realised through codeshare agreements. Many alliances started as only codeshare networks. Cost reductions come from sharing operation facilities (e.g. catering or computer systems), operation staff (e.g. ground handling personnel, at check-in and boarding desks), investments and purchases (e.g. in order to negotiate extra volume discounts).[6] Traveller benefits can include lower prices due to lowered operational costs for a given route, different times to choose from, more destinations within easy reach, shorter travel times, more options of airport lounges shared with alliance members, fast track access on all alliance members if having frequent flyer status, faster mileage rewards by earning miles for a single account on several different carriers, round-the-world tickets, enabling travellers to fly over the world for a relatively low price.[7]

Airline alliances may also create disadvantages for the traveller, such as higher prices when competition is erased on a certain route or less frequent flights; for instance, if two airlines separately fly three and two times a day respectively on a shared route, their alliance might fly less than 5 (3+2) times a day on the same route. This might be especially true between hub cities for each airline. e.g., flights between Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (a Delta Air Lines fortress hub) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (a KLM fortress hub).[8][9][10]

History

The first airline alliance was formed in the 1930s, when Panair do Brasil and its parent company Pan American World Airways agreed to exchange routes to Latin America. In 1990, the African Joint Air Services (AJAS) Accord between Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia led to the launch of Alliance Air in 1994, with South African Airways, Air Tanzania, Uganda Airlines and the governments of Uganda and Tanzania as shareholders.[citation needed]

The first large alliance began in 1989, when Northwest Airlines and KLM agreed to large-scale codesharing. In 1992, the Netherlands signed the first open skies agreement with the United States, in spite of objections from the European Union, which gave both countries unrestricted landing rights on the other's soil. Normally landing rights are granted for a fixed number of flights per week to a fixed destination. Each adjustment requires negotiations, often between governments rather than between the companies involved. In return, the United States granted antitrust immunity to the alliance between Northwest Airlines and KLM. Other alliances would struggle for years to overcome the transnational barriers and lack of antitrust immunity, and still do so.[citation needed]

On May 14, 1997, an agreement was announced forming the Star Alliance with five airlines on three continents: United Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air Canada, and Lufthansa.[11][12] The alliance chose Young & Rubicam for advertising, with a budget of $25 million (€18 million).[13][11] which brought competing airlines to form Oneworld in 1999 and SkyTeam in 2000.[citation needed]

In 2010 Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group, announced his intention to form a fourth alliance among Virgin branded airlines (Virgin Atlantic; Virgin America; and the Virgin Australia Holdings group of airlines).[14] Then in September 2011, Branson said that Virgin Atlantic would join one of the existing alliances;[15] this idea was repeated in October 2012.[16] In December 2012, Delta Air Lines purchased Singapore Airlines' 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic for £224 million.[citation needed] Virgin America was absorbed into Alaska Airlines, which joined the Oneworld alliance in 2021.[17][18]

On February 14, 2013, it was announced that American Airlines and US Airways would merge, retaining the American Airlines name and would remain in the Oneworld alliance. US Airways' participation in Star Alliance lapsed. In 2012, in South America, LAN Airlines and TAM Airlines began their merger. In March 2014, with the merger complete, TAM left Star Alliance and became part of LAN in Oneworld.[citation needed]

On September 21, 2015, the Vanilla Alliance was formed between several airlines based in the Indian Ocean region, in order to improve air connectivity within the region. The founding members are Air Austral, Air Mauritius, Air Madagascar, Air Seychelles, and Int'Air Îles.[citation needed]

On January 18, 2016, the first alliance of low-cost carriers was formed, U-FLY Alliance. The founding members—HK Express, Lucky Air, Urumqi Air, and West Air—are all affiliated with HNA Group, although the alliance is also seeking airlines not within the group.[19]

On May 16, 2016, the world's largest alliance of low-cost carriers was formed, Value Alliance. The founding members were Cebu Pacific, Cebgo, Jeju Air, Nok Air, NokScoot, Scoot Airlines, Tigerair, Tigerair Australia, and Vanilla Air.[20]

Current alliances

Star Alliance

Four members of Star Alliance at Tokyo Narita Airport: Thai, United, Swiss and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
Boeing 787-9 of All Nippon Airways
Main article: Star Alliance

Star Alliance, founded in 1997, currently has 26 members:[21]

Greece Aegean Airlines, 2010
Canada Air Canada, founder
China Air China, 2007
India Air India, 2014
New Zealand Air New Zealand, 1999
Japan All Nippon Airways, 1999
South Korea Asiana Airlines, 2003
Austria Austrian Airlines, 2000
Colombia Avianca, 2012
Belgium Brussels Airlines, 2009
Panama Copa Airlines, 2012
Croatia Croatia Airlines, 2004
Egypt EgyptAir, 2008
Ethiopia Ethiopian Airlines, 2011
Taiwan EVA Air, 2013
Poland LOT Polish Airlines, 2003
Germany Lufthansa, founder
Denmark Norway Sweden Scandinavian Airlines, founder, leaving the alliance on August 31, 2024 and joins Skyteam from September 1, 2024
China Shenzhen Airlines, 2012
Singapore Singapore Airlines, 2000
South Africa South African Airways, 2006
Switzerland Swiss International Air Lines, 2006
Portugal TAP Air Portugal, 2005
Thailand Thai Airways International, founder
Turkey Turkish Airlines, 2008
United States United Airlines, founder

Former members:

Star Alliance Connecting Partners

Star Alliance Intermodal Partnership

Oneworld

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-8
Main article: Oneworld

Oneworld, founded in 1999, currently has 13 members:[25]

United States Alaska Airlines, 2021
United States American Airlines, founder
United Kingdom British Airways, founder
Hong Kong Cathay Pacific, founder
Finland Finnair, 1999
Spain Iberia Airlines, 1999
Japan Japan Airlines, 2007
Malaysia Malaysia Airlines, 2013
Australia Qantas, founder
Qatar Qatar Airways, 2013
Morocco Royal Air Maroc, 2020
Jordan Royal Jordanian, 2007
Sri Lanka SriLankan Airlines, 2014

Former members:

Future member:

SkyTeam

Boeing 777-300ER of Garuda Indonesia
Main article: SkyTeam

SkyTeam, founded in 2000, currently has 19 members:[27]

Argentina Aerolíneas Argentinas, 2012
Mexico Aeroméxico, founder
Spain Air Europa, 2007
France Air France, founder
Taiwan China Airlines, 2011
China China Eastern Airlines, 2011
Czech Republic Czech Airlines, 2001
United States Delta Air Lines, founder
Indonesia Garuda Indonesia, 2014
Italy ITA Airways, 2021
Kenya Kenya Airways, 2007
Netherlands KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, 2004
South Korea Korean Air, founder
Lebanon Middle East Airlines, 2012
Saudi Arabia Saudia, 2012
Romania TAROM, 2010
Vietnam Vietnam Airlines, 2010
United Kingdom Virgin Atlantic, 2023
China XiamenAir, 2012

Former members:

Vanilla Alliance

Main article: Vanilla Alliance

Vanilla Alliance, founded in 2015, currently has 5 members:[28]

Réunion Air Austral, founder
Madagascar Air Madagascar, founder
Mauritius Air Mauritius, founder
Seychelles Air Seychelles, founder
Comoros Int'Air Îles, founder

U-FLY Alliance

Main article: U-FLY Alliance

U-FLY Alliance, founded in 2016, currently has 4 members:[29]

South Korea Eastar Jet, 2016
China Lucky Air, founder
China Urumqi Air, founder
China West Air, founder

Former members:

Value Alliance

Main article: Value Alliance

Value Alliance, founded in 2016, currently has 5 members:[30]

Philippines Cebu Pacific, founder
Philippines Cebgo, founder
South Korea Jeju Air, founder
Thailand Nok Air, founder
Singapore Scoot, founder

Former members:

Statistics

Alliance Members Passengers
/year 		Countries
served 		Destination Fleet Employees Revenue
/year (US$) 		Flights
/day 		RPK[2]
Star Alliance[31] 26 642.1 Mn 195 1,360 5,000 432,603 179.05 Bn 19,000 1536 Bn 23%
SkyTeam[32] 19 665.4 Mn 175 1,062 3,937 481,691[33] 140.98 Bn[33] 17,343 1362 Bn 20.4%
Oneworld[34] 13 557.4 Mn 161 1,016 3,560 382,913 130.92 Bn 13,814 1189 Bn 17.8%
Value Alliance[35] 7 180 Mn 30 183 554 - - 400 107 Bn 1.6%
U-FLY Alliance 8 200 Mn 18 149 593 - - 420 40 Bn 0.6%
Vanilla Alliance 5 2.3 Mn 26 89 46 - - - -
Airline Alliance Market Share by Network Capacity 2007

Notes and references

  1. ^ Fernandez de la Torre, Pablo E. (1999). "Airline alliances : the airline perspective". DSpace@MIT. hdl:1721.1/68159. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Scheduled Passengers Carried". World Air Transport Statistics 60th Edition. IATA. Archived from the original on 2016-07-06. Retrieved 2016-07-11.
  3. ^ "backgrounder". Star Alliance. 18 Oct 2019. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019.
  4. ^ "Fact Sheet" (PDF). SkyTeam. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-08-29.
  5. ^ "20 years, 20 facts, oneworld". OneWorld. 2019-02-01. Archived from the original on 2019-11-30. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
  6. ^ Crail, Chauncey (2021-02-10). "What Is An Airline Alliance?". Forbes Advisor. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  7. ^ Gaggero, Alberto A.; Bartolini, David (2012). "The Determinants of Airline Alliances". Journal of Transport Economics and Policy. 46 (3): 399–414. ISSN 0022-5258.
  8. ^ Flores-Fillol, Ricardo; Moner-Colonques, Rafael (2007). "Strategic Formation of Airline Alliances". Journal of Transport Economics and Policy. 41 (3): 427–449. ISSN 0022-5258.
  9. ^ Armantier, Olivier; Richard, Oliver (2008). "Domestic Airline Alliances and Consumer Welfare". The RAND Journal of Economics. 39 (3): 875–904. ISSN 0741-6261.
  10. ^ "Airline Alliance's Benefits and Drawbacks Explained". www.aerotime.aero. Archived from the original on 2022-02-07. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  11. ^ a b Bryant, Adam (14 May 1997). "United and 4 Others to Detail Air Alliance Today". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  12. ^ Tagliabue, John (15 May 1997). "5 Airlines Extend Limits of Alliances". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  13. ^ Meredith, Robyn (15 May 1997). "Airline Alliance Picks Y.& R." The New York Times. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  14. ^ Perman, Stacy (2010-09-05). "Virgin's Richard Branson Circles His Wagons". Time. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  15. ^ Bruner, Jon (2011-09-14). "Virgin Atlantic Will Join an Alliance Soon, Says Richard Branson". Forbes.
  16. ^ Quinn, James (2012-10-26). "Virgin Atlantic to join global airline alliance, says Branson". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2013-05-05.
  17. ^ "Virgin America flights become Alaska next April". Flightglobal.com. 2017-10-05. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  18. ^ "Alaska Airlines Officially Joins oneworld". 2021-03-31. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  19. ^ "HNA Group: four airlines form U-FLY Alliance, world's first LCC grouping, showing HNA consolidation". CAPA - Centre for Aviation. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Singapore Airlines’ Low-Cost Carriers, Others Start Alliance". Bloomberg. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  21. ^ "Member airline". Star Alliance. June 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-03-04.
  22. ^ "Bmi Formally Leaves". Star Alliance. 2012-05-31. Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2012-10-15.
  23. ^ "Star Alliance Intermodal Partnership". Star Alliance.
  24. ^ "Deutsche Bahn joins Star Alliance". Aviation24.be.
  25. ^ "Member Airlines". Oneworld.
  26. ^ "Aer Lingus leaving Oneworld". Oneworld.
  27. ^ "Facts and Figures". Amsterdam: SkyTeam. 5 March 2014. Archived from the original on 20 June 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  28. ^ "Vanilla Alliance agreements signed in Antananarivo". ch-aviation. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  29. ^ "UFLY Alliance". www.uflyalliance.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  30. ^ "Value Alliance". www.valuealliance.com/. Retrieved 2016-05-16.
  31. ^ "Facts and Figures". Star Alliance. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016.
  32. ^ "Factsheet" (PDF). SkyTeam. Summer 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-07-17.
  33. ^ a b "Factsheet" (PDF). SkyTeam. March 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  34. ^ "oneworld at a glance". Oneworld. July 2016.
  35. ^ "About". Value Alliance.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Airline alliances.
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