1999
- On June 22, 1999, Air France and Delta Air Lines signed a strategic, long-term agreement that laid the foundations for a major global alliance.
2000
- On June 22, 2000, the CEOs of Aeromexico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air met in New York to set up the SkyTeam Alliance. At this time SkyTeam offered 6,402 daily flights and carried 174 million passengers a year.
- ·SkyTeam extended its focus to cargo services and launched the world's first real cargo alliance, SkyTeam Cargo, whose partners included Aeromexico Cargo, Air France Cargo, Delta Air Logistics and Korean Air Cargo.
2001
- On March 21, SkyTeam officially welcomed the Czech airline CSA Czech Airlines as a new member.
- In November, Air France, Delta and Korean Air launched the U.S. Cargo Sales Joint Venture.
2002
- On January 17, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) granted trans-Atlantic antitrust immunity (ATI) to Air France, Alitalia, Czech Airlines and Delta, enabling them to closely cooperate on their trans-Atlantic networks.
- On June 28, SkyTeam became the first global airline alliance to be granted ATI by the DoT for routes across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
- In November, SkyTeam was ranked first of the 'Best Global Companies' in the 'Airlines' category by the American magazine
2003
- On January 23, the SkyTeam members announced their plans to introduce an Associate Program for selected airlines.
- On October 2, Alitalia announced that it would join the U.S. Cargo Sales Joint Venture.
2004
- On May 24, SkyTeam and Aeroflot signed an agreement as a preliminary step towards full membership of the Russian airline.
- On 13 September, Continental Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines officially joined SkyTeam. The alliance then offered 14,320 daily flights and carried 341 million passengers a year to 658 destinations.
2005
- On April 27, SkyTeam Cargo was elected «Best Air Freight Alliance 2005» at the 2005 Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards.
- On June 9 in Amsterdam, the SkyTeam Governing Board announced the finalization of the Associate Program. The first four airlines selected to join this program were Air Europa (Spain), Copa Airlines (Panama), Kenya Airways (Kenya) and Tarom (Romania).
- Northwest Airlines became the 8th member of SkyTeam Cargo on October 20.
2006
- On January 17, SkyTeam was appointed Best Airline Alliance by the U.S. monthly «Global Traveler Magazine».
- Aeroflot officially joined as the alliance's tenth member on April 14. SkyTeam now offered its 373 million passengers a year close to 15,000 daily flights to 728 destinations.
- On April 25, SkyTeam launched SkyTeam Global Meetings, a new product designed for organizers and participants of international conventions and special events. This new offer streamlines the process of arranging travel, invitations to tender and the monitoring of bookings. Thanks to SkyTeam Global Meetings, travel organizers benefit from a single point of contact for all ten Alliance members. All participants enjoy advantageous fare conditions and can accrue frequent flyer Miles on all SkyTeam carriers.
- On June 2, SkyTeam announced the signature of an agreement with the Paris Air Show Le Bourget. Under this agreement SkyTeam became the official carrier for the 2007 Paris Air Show.
- The Paris Air Show Le Bourget was the first SkyTeam Global Meetings customer.
- On June 12, nine SkyTeam carriers signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the British Airport Authority (BAA) to group their facilities at London-Heathrow International Airport.
- On June 28, SkyTeam signed an agreement in Guangzhou with China Southern Airlines, reflecting the intention of the largest airline in the People's Republic of China to take the preliminary steps towards full alliance membership.
- In October, four SkyTeam carriers serving Brazil announced the co-location of their information and ticketing services at Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport: Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
2007
- For the second consecutive year, SkyTeam was named in January the Best Airline Alliance by the readers of the American monthly Global Traveler Magazine
- On February 2, SkyTeam signed an agreement with Air Europa (Spain), Copa Airlines (Panama) and Kenya Airways (Kenya). This agreement reflects the intention of these three airlines to take the preliminary steps towards membership as Alliance Associates.
2008
- In February, SkyTeam unveiled plans to open its first co-branded SkyTeam lounge at London Heathrow International Airport (LHR).
- In May, the U.S.Department of Transport ( DoT) approved the request for antitrust immunity on transatlantic routes filed by the six SkyTeam member airlines Air France, Alitalia, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest Airlines on 28 June 2007. Antitrust immunity will enable Air France, KLM and their respective partner Delta and Northwest to consolidate their four-way joint-venture project which aims to rapidly integrate all their transatlantic services.
2009
- In April, SkyTeam announced several new initiatives including a new alliance organization, a new managing director and presented the new alliance livery to adorn certain aircraft in the fleet.
- On 4 June, Skyteam opened the first level of its new co-branded lounge facility in terminal 4 of London's Heathrow airport. This lounge is the first of its kind to have been jointly designed by nine member and associate airlines. The facility offers customers a superior range of services in comfortable, refined surroundings. Open from 5.30am until the departure of the last flight in the evening, the lounge is located opposite gate10 in the terminal.
