Every airline passenger will have seen the name and logos of the three big airline alliances carrying almost two out of three of the world’s airline passengers. The names “One World“, “SkyTeam” and “Star Alliance” adorn planes, airline marketing materials, boarding passes, in-flight magazines and airport signs. All three of the big US airlines (American, Delta and United) are linked to one of the alliances. In Europe, it is the same with their three biggest airline companies. There are also three smaller and newer alliances: U fly, Vanilla, Value. I list of all the members…
Skyteam
Tag Archives for Skyteam.
My travels with the #19 year old #StarAlliance
The Star Alliance turns 19 tomorrow, Saturday the 14th of May. The network is now an “adult” with 27 member airlines carrying almost 638 million passengers annually. This compares to SkyTeam with 20 airlines and 588 million passengers annually and Oneworld with 15 airlines and almost 513 million. Starting with just five airlines, the network has grown to include: I have flown 159 times with nine Star Alliance members for a total of 424,788km (263,951 miles), almost ten times around the earth! This represents 14% of all my flights and a third of the distance I have ever flown! The Star…
Etihad finishes Alitalia Due Diligence
Etihad Airways has reportedly finished a due diligence for a possible 40 percent investment in Alitalia. Maurizio Lupi , the Italian transport minister told parliament on Wednesday that Etihad could present its industrial plan for the troubled Italian carrier to the government by the end of this week. The Middle Eastern airline is apparently considering its options which a month ago its’ Chief Executive James Hogan said could swing either way. Etihad has said it will invest in the Italian carrier only if it fits in its network and if Alitalia has a credible plan to return to profit.…
Shenzhen Air joins Star Alliance -No One World for China?
Following the recent addition of Xiamen Airlines to Skyteam, Shenzhen Airlines China’s fifth largest carrier has joined the Star Alliance after 16 months of planning. Shenzen is based in the city of the same name, 1,940km from Beijing. The airline links 70 cities domestically and internationally. In 2010, the airline was involved in a scandal when it was found that about one hundred of its pilots had falsified their flying qualifications and experience. There is much speculation, as to whether all of these false pilots were successfully removed from the company. Almost all of China’s largest airlines are now locked into either Skyteam or Star Alliance. In contrast with the…
Xiamen Airlines joins Skyteam
Xiamen Airlines joined the SkyTeam alliance last week becoming airline number 19 in the grouping of which three others cover the area China : China Southern and China Eastern Airlines (China) and China Airlines (Taiwan) Xiamen are the fifth largest airline in China,based in Xiamen in the Fujian Province. This picture shows one flight attendant representative from 18 of skyteam airlines with three representatives from Xiamen. Left to Right- match the airline to the uniform. How many can you match? Aeroflot Aerolineas Aeromexico Air Europa Air France Alitalia China Airlines China Eastern China Southern Czech…
Thoughts about Aeroflot
I am flying in Eastern Europe in November. I have assiduously avoided Aeroflot all of my life. Should I have a rethink these days? Aeroflot is the Russian carrier founded by the Communists in 1923. It is now a profitable semi privatised carrier and part of the Skyteam alliance. Skytrax ranks them as a three star airline and the passeger reviews have them at 4.7 out of ten, which seems to be average for the Skyteam carriers! The carrier used to have an appalling safety record – so bad it has its own wikipedia page devoted to the…
Tuesday Trip Report: Korean Airlines A380
I have been systematically working my way through all of the airlines that have A380 products. So far I have flown (in date order) Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Emirates and Lufthansa. Today’s trip report: Korean Airlines A380. Korean was founded in 1962. For a long time it had a very dubious safety record with 16 aircraft involved in serious incidents and accidents in the 1970s to 1990s. Total loss of life: 700. Their safety has improved enormously, with the last incident in 1997. They have also received several awards for their service with Skytrrax rating them four stars. They are a member…
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