SkyTeam to Seek Chinese Partner
 

According to a poster on the AOL Delta BB (who has been very reliable in the past with a clear track of very inside knowledge) SkyTeam will seek to add a Chinese partner airline in the near future. He comments that the various partners all believe that China will represent on the most rapidly growing markets in the future. Again, I am reporting what is being posted, but the original poster has always had very accurate info on a variety of technical matters including which aircraft were being delivered, retired, painted etc, route and equipment changes etc.

Is it China Southern who DL currently code shares with now?

that is true . . . helpful if you want to fly to Ganazhou. Yeah . . . that's always on the top of my list of places to go to in China. You'd think Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai would have some priority for DL. Hopefully this means things might change.

Could you provide the link you refer to about the possible new Sky Team member. Thanks

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DL PM

I still have nightmares regarding Air China or China Air or whatever with the bailing wire held together retired Russian planes. One flight, we ran down the runway 3 times stopped and backed up twice before the plane lifted off.

I wouldn't fly on any plane with a Flag of China on the metal.

I believe it was Air China who crashed this week.

Just another article about this topic....

http://news.airwise.com/stories/2002/04/1019131682.html

Mainland Chinese aviation has experienced a real renaissance over the last couple of years, and most major carriers operate new Airbus or Boeing equipment. Additionally, new airports or terminals are under construction, or have been built, in most major Chinese cities. Additionally, English is spoken on all domestic flights within China.

Also, remember that Air China is a Taiwanese carrier rather than a Chinese one, and is not under the same regulations as the mainland carriers.

Um, Air China is a PRC-flag carrier. Are you referring to China Airlines, which is based in Taiwan???

Whoops . . . my mistake! Sorry! The rest of my post stands, though.

Could be, but dont hold your breath... DL cooperates with CZ on only one route, CZ has a MUCH closer/tighter relationship with NW. However, in the event that Wings actually gets launched, MH will probably be asked to join before CZ, so that may be SkyTeam's chance.

Maybe Guangzhou isn't at the top of your list, but CZ is the largest airline* of the largest country**. That sound attractive??? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

*by number of pax
**by number of population

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Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre c'est impossible sans Concorde!
~ConcordeBoy

[This message has been edited by ConcordeBoy (edited 04-19-2002).]

[This message has been edited by ConcordeBoy (edited 04-19-2002).]

Don't confuse Air China (PRC) with China Airlines (Taiwan). The former has a decent safety record. China Airlines however has a disastrous safety record (M11 flipped over in HKG, 3 A300's crashed in 2 years, A340's taking off on taxiways instead of runways@ANC). Although apparently China Airlines is *trying* to improve things...