Well, I'm not so sure. As of today, this appears in the list of SkyTeam airlines. It wasn't there before.

Official Press Release from SkyTeam Website
 

SKYTEAM WELCOMES CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES AS FIRST CHINESE CARRIER
SkyTeam Becomes First Alliance to Add Carrier from Mainland China


BEIJING, November 15, 2007 - Today China Southern Airlines officially became the 11th full member of SkyTeam, making the alliance the first to welcome a carrier from mainland China. China is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and the addition of China Southern allows SkyTeam to provide its customers around the world with greater travel options to one of the world's top tourist destinations.

With the addition of China Southern Airlines, SkyTeam now serves approximately 428 million annual passengers through a worldwide system of nearly 16,400 daily flights covering 841 destinations in 162 countries. China Southern, with the most extensive airline route network in China, operates the largest and most advanced airline fleet in th country. The carrier is also widely recognized for its safety and customer service standards, and was honored with the Three-Star Safety Award by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in 2006 - the most prestigious award in safe flight operations in the Chinese aviation industry.

"We are excited to welcome China Southern Airlines, one of Asia's largest and leading carriers, into our network," said Leo van Wijk, chairman of the SkyTeam Governing Board. "This move allows us to offer our customers unparalleled access to the markets they want to reach. Offering the highest flight frequencies in China, China Southern's membership strengthens the alliance's position in serving the world's fastest growing markets."

The addition of China Southern also bolsters the alliance's global hub network with the addition of Baiyun International Airport, a well-positioned, modern hub in Guangzhou, and Beijing Capital International Airport. China Southern is the first carrier in China to operate its own terminal at Beijing Capital International Airport, China's busiest hub.

"SkyTeam is known for its unrivaled global connectivity and as a member, we can better serve our customers, particularly as the 2008 Beijing Olympics approach," said Liu Shao Yong, Chairman of China Southern Airlines, at a welcome ceremony in Beijing. "China Southern's extensive intra-Asia network serves as a powerful link in SkyTeam's robust global network," added Mr. Liu.

The welcome ceremony, which took place at Great Hall of the People in Beijing, was attended by Liu Shao Yong, Chairman of China Southern Airlines; Yang Yuanyuan, director, Civil Aviation Administration of China, General Administration; Leo van Wijk, SkyTeam Governing Board Chairman; as well as Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air; and other SkyTeam representatives.

China Southern Airlines made significant progress and fulfilled all SkyTeam alliance membership requirements since signing a memorandum for membership in August 2004. The carrier earned recognition as a SkyTeam member airline after reaching a number of agreements with each of the alliance member carriers, including bilateral codesharing, frequent flyer and lounge agreements.

About China Southern Airlines
The largest airline in The People's Republic of China for the past 28 years, China Southern Airlines - www.cs-air.com/en - connects more than 162 cities around the globe. Major business and vacation destinations served in China include: Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Guilin, Hong Kong, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan and as well as International service, including: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Fukuoka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Islamabad, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Moscow, Osaka, Paris, Penang, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

About SkyTeam
SkyTeam is the global airline alliance partnering ten members, including Aeroflot, Aeroméxico, Air France, Alitalia, China Southern Airlines, Continental Airlines, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines, and three Associate Airlines: Air Europa (Spain), Copa Airlines (Panama) and Kenya Airways. Through one of the world's most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its 428 million annual passengers a worldwide system of 16,400 daily flights covering 841 destinations in 162 countries. www.skyteam.com.

Only classes A, C, D, F, W, Y

that means only business class and full economy?!!!! I have the feeling that Skyteam does not want China Southern...
or China Southern does not want Skyteam?

disappointed

some info about the booking class by China Southern.

According to Air France, Flying Blue members can earn miles only for below booking classes.
"Only eligible when reserving in the following classes : A, C, D, F, W, Y."

http://skypearl.cs-air.com/air1_en.html

First Class(F/A)
Business Class(C/D)
Luxury Economy Class(W)
Full Fare Economy(Y/T/K/H)
Full Fare Economy(M/G/S/L/Q/U/E/V/B)
Special Economy(X/P/I/O/Z/N/R/J)

But does it still say "Miles earned on CZ will not count for the validation of your level"? It did on KLM pages a few minutes ago (note that AF and KL pages are different) so it's still definitely the old text.

Incidentally, DL updated their earning table. Now it says classes M and G will only earn 40% - do I take it lower classes that are not specifically excluded will still get full miles? :cool:

Not surprisingly, CO hasn't moved CZ into the SkyTeam section of their partner page yet. And M/G are 40% there as well. There is the fine print that states:
I don't know how many fare buckets they actually use, but it is interesting to see the limitations spelled out so as to leave the earning open to newly added buckets versus the traditional nothing unless otherwise specified approach.

No, it does not. But then again the AF site does not have that kind of wording for any partner. It has a separate page altogether for SkyTeam partners so it is expected (also as mentioned on the page about the different levels) that ALL SkyTeam flights earn qualifying miles.

As of right now, the KL page says those miles will count for level but continues to spell out the old booking codes. If they have no intention to change those, it is indeed pathetic.

Cz December Sale-- Great Sale Here On Cz Website. Almost All Of Intra South China At Y160 Ow. I Booked Dec 11-29 Rt Nng-can At Y570 Including All Taxes And Contruction Fees. They Are Advertising At 70percent Discount. Now To See If They Can Get Me Into Their Reporting System.

good luck, i still have trouble with agents in can and that is home training base. when i ask for something here in nng they say "wo ting bu dong" meaning i dont know. I also booked with them dec 11 to can so will be interesting to see what happens as that is first leg of flites to nrt and mco on dec. 12. good luck.

http://www.csair.com/en/
this link is working today but these prices are about double what you
can get from online or local ta

Flew on Nov 18 Guilin-Kunming (60% discount 760 Yuan).

The airport was plastered with announcements about CZ joining Skyteam - however, of course, the Check-in agent had never heard of Skyteam and didn't recognise my Platinum (Elite Plus) card and refused to give me the extra luggage allowance. Then she had absolutely no problem with me taking a 16kg bag on board as hand luggage....

The ABSOLUTELY AMAZING thing is that the mile posted correctly, automatically three days later. And yes, they posted as qualifing miles and a qualifying flight with the Elite bonus.

According to yoee.com, Y760 is 10% discount (that is, it's 90% of Y fare). But even this booking code is excluded from earning miles with FB. So it's either Flying Blue actually gives out miles for more booking codes than they claim to (generous by nature... yeah, right :cool:) or CZ staff/system checks everyone in as Y (as used to be the case with QR fares posting to Miles and More in the first months of their partnership). Good news, either way

P.S. I assume you're talking about FB here, looking at your affiliation in the profile

Extra luggage allowance is not an ST E or E+ benefit. There may be some individual rules between partner ailines, but as a DL Plat I get no extra allowance on any ST flights except DL.

You do, however get a priority baggage tag to ensure it's one of the last on the carousel:)

Yes indeed!
Which is why I was expecting the extra luggage allowance listed on their site. I still got from A to B with only 2 hours delay.....

the extra luggage perk was even already available BEFORE CZ entered Skyteam for AF/KL card holders. Usually works in PEK but talking about a rural airport, don't expect much from ground staff :)