Originally Posted by
apoivre
Thanks for the links. I heard all of these stories (and you missed the one on FV going to join one of the three alliances pretty soon). I just meant none of these airlines are exactly alliance material. Granted, neither was SU back when LH and AF were courting them - but none of these even come close to where SU stood back then. Or where MS stood when they started talking to Star, for that matter (not to offend anyone, but that's the worst example I can think of right now).
Actually, I think Skyteam already have the highest quality standard of the three major alliances, in that the worst possible carrier/airport combination is still quite acceptable.
Both of the others include some airlines that are visibly lower quality than their regional competitors (e.g. MA, MS) and some key hubs that you REALLY want to avoid (e.g. LHR, ORD). Skyteam only have AZ in the "low quality" category, and that's in a region which is very well served by the other alliance carriers (and still with a better baggage delivery rate than "premium" competitor BA!).