Martin Placek
Research expert covering transportation and electronics
Airline Alliances - Statistics & Facts
An airline alliance is an aviation industry arrangement between two or more airlines agreeing to cooperate on a substantial level in the providing marketing branding to facilitate travelers making inter-airline codeshare connections within countries. A codeshare is simply an aviation business arrangement where two or more airlines share the same flight.
In 2018 Star Alliance was the leading airline alliance, accounting for 21.7 percent of the market share, followed by SkyTeam with 16.1 percent, then Oneworld, with a 15.6 percent market share. Founded on 14 May 1997, Star Alliance is currently headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The alliance’s slogan is: “The Way the Earth Connects” and its leading airline members include: Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air China, Air Canada, and United Airlines.
Founded on 1 February 1999, Oneworld’s central alliance offices are located in New York City. Generating a net profit to the tune of around 6.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, its member airlines include: British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, as well as SriLankan and American Airlines. Its slogan is "An alliance of the world's leading airlines working as one."
Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three major airline alliances to be formed. In 2018, SkyTeam accrued some 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in operating profit. SkyTeam currently operates with the slogan: “Caring more about you” and its centralized management team, SkyTeam Central, is currently located on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. In 2018, SkyTeam’s revenue stood at around 152.9 billion U.S. dollars. Leading airline members of SkyTeam by number of codeshares include: AirFrance, KLM, Alitalia, Korean Air, China Eastern Airlines, and Aeroflot.
In 2018 Star Alliance was the leading airline alliance, accounting for 21.7 percent of the market share, followed by SkyTeam with 16.1 percent, then Oneworld, with a 15.6 percent market share. Founded on 14 May 1997, Star Alliance is currently headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The alliance’s slogan is: “The Way the Earth Connects” and its leading airline members include: Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air China, Air Canada, and United Airlines.
Founded on 1 February 1999, Oneworld’s central alliance offices are located in New York City. Generating a net profit to the tune of around 6.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, its member airlines include: British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, as well as SriLankan and American Airlines. Its slogan is "An alliance of the world's leading airlines working as one."
Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three major airline alliances to be formed. In 2018, SkyTeam accrued some 9.5 billion U.S. dollars in operating profit. SkyTeam currently operates with the slogan: “Caring more about you” and its centralized management team, SkyTeam Central, is currently located on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. In 2018, SkyTeam’s revenue stood at around 152.9 billion U.S. dollars. Leading airline members of SkyTeam by number of codeshares include: AirFrance, KLM, Alitalia, Korean Air, China Eastern Airlines, and Aeroflot.
