Skyteam's strategy on China, I think, is brilliant !!
Most airlines when they join an alliance, tend to stick to the alliance for a long, long time ... so by freezing out the competition, Skyteam has done exceptionally well ...
Star Alliance and OneWorld are still wishing that they could have acted sooner on China before the main players are snapped up ...
Skyteam's focus on emerging economies is part of their biggest recruitment plan since they captured NW, CO and KL back then ... they targetted airlines based in mega-economies such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, etc.
They've now close to getting Garuda Indonesia, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Aerolinas Argentinas, etc adding to Vietnam Airlines ... which is pretty close to an idealistic scenarios as they can get to the emerging economies focus ...
I can see some blank stares when Saudi Arabian Airlines is mentioned ...
But realizing that Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airlines are too arrogant for alliances, coupled with the fact that Turkish and Egypt Air were already taken, Saudi Arabian does not seem a bad choice connecting across the Arabian regions ...
For those willing to only fly their respective alliances, in this case, Skyteam, Saudi Arabian can provide the necessary connections 4+ hours around the gulf ... although I personally would think twice flying Saudi Arabian trans-continental or inter-continental ... but I do hope that the quality and service does improve in the future ... just as Garuda had improved ...