When flying, you may have heard this familiar announcement: “Welcome aboard United Airlines, a member of Star Alliance.” But have you ever wondered what that phrase means, exactly? In 1997, the Star Alliance became the first global aviation alliance, soon followed by Oneworld in 1999 and SkyTeam in 2000. In these alliances, member airlines agree to cooperate on codeshare flights, airport resources, marketing, frequent flyer benefits, lounges, and many other facets of air travel. Find out how these agreements work and how they benefit you as a traveler with our guide to airline alliances.
History of Aviation Alliances

The earliest airline alliance was formed in the 1930s, when Pan Am and Panair do Brasil cooperated on each other’s routes. In 1989, Northwest Airlines and Netherlands-based KLM introduced the concept of a large-scale codesharing agreement, in which the two airlines were permitted to sell seats on each other’s flights, a practice that is widespread today. This allowed travelers to create an itinerary using one purchase point rather than purchasing through multiple airlines.
The first truly global alliance took shape in May 1997, when Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways International, and United Airlines joined together to launch the Star Alliance network.
The alliance’s first slogan, “The Airline Network for Earth,” reflected its worldwide reach. To market the concept, members painted dedicated airplanes in a special Star Alliance livery. By 2000, Star Alliance had 15 member airlines and offered customers a seamless way to book flights to 815 destinations in 130 countries.
In 1999, American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines International (now defunct), Cathay Pacific, and Qantas formed the Oneworld alliance. The following year saw the creation of Skyteam, whose founding members were Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico, Air France, and Korean Air.
Today, most major airlines are members of one of the three main global alliances, though there are some exceptions. Global carriers such as Emirates and Etihad Airways are not members of any alliance, though these airlines offer codeshare and reciprocal frequent flyer agreements with individual airlines. (Likewise, members of one alliance may offer codeshares with airlines that belong to other alliances or no alliance at all.)
Many low-cost and regional airlines — such as Southwest and JetBlue in North America and Easyjet and Ryanair in Europe — also do not participate in these alliances but may have individual codeshare agreements.
Benefits of Airline Alliances

One of the main benefits that airline alliances provide for customers is more route options and a seamless transit experience between carriers. Say you’re looking to book a flight from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Nairobi, Kenya. No airline operates this route nonstop — in fact, no U.S. airline even offers service to Kenya.
Instead of booking individual legs with separate airlines, an airline alliance allows you to book this as one itinerary with a single airline. For example, you can book with Delta Air Lines to fly from Raleigh to New York’s JFK Airport on that airline’s metal. Then, you’ll connect to Skyteam partner carrier Kenya Airways to fly from JFK to Nairobi.
The cooperation among alliance members allows you to check your bags through to your final destination, plus earn frequent flyer miles for the journey with your member airline of choice. When it comes time to book your next trip, you can redeem those miles or points across a larger pool of carriers.
Frequent flyer benefits are another main perk of alliances. If you fly enough to earn elite status on American Airlines, for example, your status will be recognized across Oneworld carriers, giving you access to dedicated check-in counters, fast-track security, airport lounges, priority boarding, preferred seats, and other valuable benefits.
Let’s take a closer look at the three main global alliances below.
Star Alliance

The original alliance is also the world’s largest: Star Alliance offers more than 17,500 daily departures to over 1,150 destinations in 189 countries worldwide. The alliance is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and more than 727 million people fly on Star Alliance member airlines annually. Frequent flyers can unlock Star Alliance Silver or Star Alliance Gold status, which provides access to over 1,000 lounges along with other benefits.
As of early 2025, there are 25 airlines in Star Alliance: Aegean Airlines (Greece), Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA (Japan), Asiana Airlines (South Korea), Austrian Airlines, Avianca (Colombia), Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines (Panama), Croatia Airlines, Egyptair, Ethiopian Airlines, Eva Air (Taiwan), LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa (Germany), Shenzhen Airlines (China), Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, and United Airlines.
SkyTeam

SkyTeam, the second-largest global alliance, provides flights to 1,000-plus destinations in more than 160 countries, carrying over 624 million passengers each year. Its headquarters are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. There are two tiers for frequent flyers: SkyTeam Elite and SkyTeam Elite Plus, the latter of which unlocks access to over 750 lounges.
SkyTeam’s member airlines include Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa (Spain), Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways (Italy), Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines (MEA), SAS (Scandinavia), Saudia, Tarom (Romania), Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic (U.K.), and XiamenAir (China). After a recent acquisition by Lufthansa, ITA Airways will leave SkyTeam at some point in 2025 and join Star Alliance.
Oneworld

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Oneworld is the smallest of the three global airline alliances, but its stats are impressive: Member airlines operate over 4.5 million flights per year to more than 900 destinations on a fleet of more than 3,400 aircraft. On average, a Oneworld flight takes off or lands every six seconds.
There are 212 million people who belong to the frequent flyer programs of member airlines. Those who fly enough can earn Oneworld Priority benefits based on three tiers: Emerald, Sapphire, and Ruby.
As of 2025, Oneworld has 13 member airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong), Finnair, Iberia (Spain), Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas (Australia), Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, and SriLankan Airlines. Oman Air and Fiji Airways also plan to join the alliance in the near future.
Featured image credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images
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