Don't forget that AF have already sponsored RO (Tarom) to join up as an associate.
Personally, I think it would be nice to recognise SB (AirCalin) as a proper Skyteam partner - or at least as an associate. After all, they are full Flying Blue and (as far as I am aware) are fully/mostly owned by AF. This would also add considerable qudos for ST-RTW routes, as you would then have trans-Pacific options such as SYD/AKL-NOU-PPE-LAX. But if Air Tahiti Nui join, that may be a conflict.
MH & GA have been on the speculation list for some time, but nothing official seems to have appeared (other than a MoU between GA & KE).
I can't really see both Jet and Kingfisher joining - I guess they are competitiors. But either would be very nice.
And a Latin American airline would definitely be an improvement with the imminent departure of CM (Copa).
But my wish is generally to have as many decent members as possible; be proactive in recruitment, oh ye SkyTeam management board!
I'm not sure if TN is actually a Skyteam partner however they are an airline partner with NW. If you are a NW/DL Worldperks member you can redeem miles on TN but I don't believe you can earn miles. From the NW site:
Redeeming Miles
WorldPerks members may redeem WorldPerks miles on select Air Tahiti Nui routes: Los Angeles-Papeete, New York (JFK)-Papeete, Tokyo-Papeete, Osaka-Papeete, Papeete-Sydney, Los Angeles-Auckland, Tokyo-Auckland and Osaka-Auckland.
Destinations
Located on the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, Air Tahiti Nui serves 7 cities to/from its hub in Papeete.
Web site:www.airtahitinui.com
Award Blackout Dates on Air Tahiti Nui Flights: None
As a side note, it looks like Wikipedia may have pulled some of the information from the NW website since the following are all partner airlines with NW:
* Air Tahiti Nui
* Alaska Airlines
* China Airlines
* China Eastern Airlines
* Garuda Indonesia
* Jet Airways
* Kingfisher Airlines
* Malaysia Airlines
Perhaps the NW/DL merger is what's driving some of the speculation that one or more of the above airlines will become a member of Skyteam.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CDF
As a side note, it looks like Wikipedia may have pulled some of the information from the NW website since the following are all partner airlines with NW:
...
Perhaps the NW/DL merger is what's driving some of the speculation that one or more of the above airlines will become a member of Skyteam.
So now we know where the bad information came from, I guess.
Being a partner of one or two carriers in an alliance does not put an airline in line to join that alliance. By that same metric SQ is about to join ST, as they are a DL partner.
The article is a ridiculous source to use as a cite claiming anything as likely, particularly when looking at 9W, MH and IT. Here's the actual excerpt from that post:
Quote:
Van Wijk says that elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, the group has been in informal discussions with China Eastern Airlines, which rival alliance oneworld is also courting, as well as Taiwan's China Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and India's Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines. ...
Van Wijk says none have yet committed, however. He adds that India in particular is a market in which SkyTeam very much wants to have a member. Oneworld is also courting both Jet and Kingfisher in that market, while late last year Air India agreed to join the Star Alliance.
So there are possibly some discussions going on there. That is a MUCH different situation from likely members. The 9W and IT situations are far from a sure thing.
I haven't read the TN article (and I'm assuming no one else here has) so I cannot comment as the how reasonable the assertion is. I'm not going to pay for a subscription that has access to the article to read it.
I would really love to see VN or MH or even both into Skyteam and the 2 airlines could be like TG & SQ but maybe in a lesser way. But does MH & GA sound good to anyone?
The article is a ridiculous source to use as a cite claiming anything as likely, particularly when looking at 9W, MH and IT. Here's the actual excerpt from that post:
So there are possibly some discussions going on there. That is a MUCH different situation from likely members. The 9W and IT situations are far from a sure thing.
I haven't read the TN article (and I'm assuming no one else here has) so I cannot comment as the how reasonable the assertion is. I'm not going to pay for a subscription that has access to the article to read it.
OK, chill out, I did preface the Wikipedia listing with "for what it's worth".
Most of them are unlikely to be the *next* Skyteam member, but it is interesting to speculate on who may eventually join. This was the only place I could find any sort of listing. Unless someone's aware of any more authoritative list...
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I'm pretty chill.
I'm just pointing out that the content is not really worth believing too much. Yeah, you said FWIW, and I'm suggesting that it isn't worth much at all.
Does anybody know what is the criteria for an airline to join a global aliance? I would like to see Tarom join Skyteam but I think they might be too regional and small, compared to other major players like AF or NWA.
Do they need to pay anything for it or just offer clients same benefits as the aliance does?
Does anybody know what is the criteria for an airline to join a global aliance?
There is a list of requirements somewhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CAlex
I would like to see Tarom join Skyteam but I think they might be too regional and small, compared to other major players like AF or NWA.
That's what Associate Membership is for. If you are a charter airline with a few scheduled ops on the side (UX) or too disorganised to operate a FFP of your own (KQ), you let someone else do it for you. Tarom had actually agreed to do that with Alitalia, but I can't seem to believe they've been too excited to follow through the process with an airline that was about to liquidate!
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Last edited by graraps; Jan 10, 09 at 5:42 am.
Reason: missing infinitive
