Given the increasingly integrated market, airlines need to propose a powerful, global offer for the transportation of both passengers and freight, in order to further develop their growth and profitability.
Air France, Aeromexico, Delta and Korean set up the SkyTeam Alliance in 2000. Today it comprises ten members: Air France, KLM, Aeroflot, Aeromexico, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta and Korean. Seven years after being set up, SkyTeam holds 19% of market share, and is the second-ranking global alliance, slightly ahead of oneworld and just behind Star Alliance.
In 2007, two associate airlines have also joined SkyTeam as part of a reinforced cooperation program: Air Europa (Spain), and Kenya Airways.
The European, American and Asian partners pool their resources and use a system of code-sharing flights. Their aim is to develop their offer on the global market or, in the case of a difficult economic situation, to maintain services to all destinations on the Alliance network. In this case, the alliance would act as a buffer against external events.
With more than 16,786 daily flights to 905 worldwide destinations, SkyTeam offers a vast global network. This is organized around powerful hubs belonging to member airlines, which constitute the strength of the SkyTeam Alliance: for example, the Air France and KLM hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and at Amsterdam-Schiphol, the Delta hub in Atlanta (the biggest in the world), the Korean Air hub in Seoul Incheon (state-of-the-art hub) or that of Aeromexico in Mexico City (leading Latin American hub).
how does it work ?
Code-sharing: how does it work?
The code-sharing system, a widespread practice in the air transport industry, is based on agreements that bind the various members of SkyTeam.
This practice consists in selling flights operated by other carriers under their own code (e.g. AF for Air France, KL for KLM, DL for Delta, AZ for Alitalia).
For SkyTeam members, apart from offering travelers more flights and destinations, the alliance is an effective way of maintaining or extending their networks and improving their profitability.