SkyTeam

SkyTeam is an airline alliance with its centralised management team, SkyTeam Central, based at the World Trade Center Schiphol Airport on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. SkyTeam was founded in 2000 by Aeroméxico, Air France, Delta Air Lines, and Korean Air. SkyTeam was the last of the three airline alliances to be formed, the first two being Star Alliance and Oneworld. However, in terms of the number of passengers and the number of members, SkyTeam has grown and is now second to Star Alliance and is ahead of Oneworld. As of November 2012, SkyTeam consists of 19 carriers from five continents, and operates with the slogan "Caring more about you". It also operates a cargo alliance named SkyTeam Cargo, which partners ten carriers —all of them SkyTeam members— following the entrance of China Airlines Cargo in October 2012 (2012-10).

In 2004, the alliance had its biggest expansion when Continental Airlines, KLM, and Northwest Airlines simultaneously joined as full members. In 2010, the alliance celebrated its 10th anniversary with the introduction of a special livery, the joining or upgrading status of four airlines, followed by the announcements of Aerolíneas Argentinas, China Airlines, and Garuda Indonesia to become full members. In January 2011 (2011-01), the alliance announced the incorporation of both Saudi Arabian Airlines and Middle East Airlines during 2012; these events effectively took place in May and June 2012 (2012-06), respectively, whereas Aerolíneas Argentinas and Xiamen Airlines memberships were activated in August and November the same year, respectively.

As of November 2012, the alliance and its members have a total workforce of 436,007. SkyTeam flies to 1,000 destinations in 187 countries, and operates some 15,500 daily flights with a combined fleet of over 4,100 aircraft, including associate carriers. Furthermore, the alliance has 525 lounges worldwide to serve 552 million annual passengers.