SkyTeam, Star Alliance Add Members
Star Alliance and SkyTeam last month welcomed new members to their alliances, broadening their reach into new regions. Swiss International Air Lines and South African Airways officially joined Star Alliance last month, bringing its number of carriers to 18. Meanwhile, SkyTeam welcomed Aeroflot Airways into its alliance, representing its first Russia-based member. Star Alliance said that through its partnerships with South African Airways, it became the first alliance to include an African airline. South African continues to maintain its codeshare agreement with Oneworld member Qantas. South African carries more than 7 million passengers annually, serving 34 cities in 26 countries. Lufthansa's merger with Swiss last year paved the way for its membership in Star Alliance. In the past year, Swiss has been working closely with Star Alliance members, including codeshare agreements with United Airlines as well as Lufthansa. Swiss' 67-aircraft fleet serves 69 destinations. Aeroflot, the largest air carrier in Russia, in 2004 signed an agreement with SkyTeam to move forward on its membership. Since then, SkyTeam said, the carrier has met safety and service standards to make it compatible with other SkyTeam partners. The carrier also entered into bilateral agreements with the nine other SkyTeam carriers. "SkyTeam's expansion strategy is simple—the alliance is committed to serving the destinations our customers want to travel to most," said Jean-Cyril Spinetta, Air France chairman and CEO. "As we welcome Aeroflot into the alliance, our network now includes new markets in Russia and Eastern Europe that are poised for even greater passenger demand." In 2005, Aeroflot carried 6.8 million passengers, connecting them to 86 cities in 46 countries, SkyTeam said.
Oneworld To Consolidate AT Heathrow
Oneworld is bulking up its largest hub in Europe, following an agreement with London's Heathrow Airport to consolidate terminals among its airlines. Oneworld said its carriers—accounting for more than 50 percent of Heathrow's traffic—currently are "split across all four of Heathrow's terminals." In a statement, the alliance said that under an agreement signed with Heathrow in March, operations would be consolidated in Terminal 5—set to launch in 2008—and an upgraded Terminal 3, "which is the closest of the existing terminals to the new facility." Oneworld said its carriers "will share adjacent checkin desks, piers and other facilities in Terminal 3." Oneworld said the agreement "covers all seven of the existing Oneworld member airlines serving Heathrow," which comprises British Airways—"for which the airport is its home base"—as well as American Airlines, Qantas, Cathay Pacific Airways, Iberia, Finnair and Aer Lingus. "This agreement is a great step forward for the Oneworld alliance, allowing much greater cohesion between all partner airlines at Heathrow," said British Airways CEO Willie Walsh. "Customers will see real benefits as connections become more convenient, smoother and faster."
IATA Helps Carriers Find Interline Pacts
The International Air Transport Association is helping carriers partner with other carriers for ticket interlining through several initiatives, including its Matchmaker Web site that allows airlines to search for and reach out to potential partners. "We've produced a Web tool for them to select who they would like to have an agreement with," said Bryan Wilson, IATA electronic ticketing project director. "They can click on it and we send a message to the right person at the right airline to find who you want an agreement with." IATA said the service helps airlines identify areas where interline agreements would be beneficial, match with potential partners in those areas, initiate discussions and set implementation dates and track progress of interline agreements. IATA also is organizing workshops and a "buddy program" to help carriers without e-ticketing capabilities to link with knowledgeable sources to automate.