SkyTeam welcomes China Southern; TAM, United begin partnership

The SkyTeam global alliance – which includes Delta, Continental and Northwest as well as Air France, KLM and others – has added China Southern Airlines as its 11th full member. With flights to 152 cities worldwide, China Southern is the largest carrier in the People’s Republic, with hubs at Guangzhou’s New Baiyun International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. With the addition of its first member in China, SkyTeam now serves 841 destinations in 162 countries.

In other partnership news, United Airlines last week started a new code-share pact with Brazil’s TAM. United’s code will go onto TAM flights from Miami and New York JFK to Sao Paulo and Manus, enabling connection to other destinations in Brazil. TAM has direct service to 47 cities in Brazil and controls 71 percent of Brazil’s international market. United’s Mileage Plus members can now earn and redeem miles on all flights operated by TAM and TAM Mercosur.