Understanding what airline alliances are—and which airlines belong to each—is a key that unlocks the door to the next level of miles and points earning and usage. The basics of airline alliances aren’t all that difficult to understand, and that knowledge will allow you to use your miles in ways you never thought possible.
There are three major airline alliances: SkyTeam, Star Alliance and oneworld (purposefully styled in all lowercase). Here’s why. These alliances are groups of airlines that agree to work together so passengers can reach more destinations on a single ticket—even when the itinerary spans multiple carriers. Alliances let airlines offer a global footprint without expanding into every region themselves.
There are three major airline alliances: SkyTeam, Star Alliance and oneworld (purposefully styled in all lowercase). Here’s why. These alliances are groups of airlines that agree to work together so passengers can reach more destinations on a single ticket—even when the itinerary spans multiple carriers. Alliances let airlines offer a global footprint without expanding into every region themselves.
Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Here are the alliances and the member airlines of each:
oneworld
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Oman Air
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian
- SriLankan Airlines
SkyTeam
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- Aerolíneas Argentinas
- Aeroméxico
- Air Europa
- Air France
- China Airlines
- China Eastern Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Garuda Indonesia
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Middle East Airlines
- SAS
- Saudia
- TAROM
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Xiamen Airlines
Star Alliance
- Aegean Airlines
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airways
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- EgyptAir
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Air
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- Swiss International Air Lines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
Unless you’re a global mega-traveler, you probably haven’t heard of many of these carriers. But knowing these alliances and their memberships can help you make bucket-list bookings with your miles. Remember our $25,000 trip that cost less than $1,000? Using miles on alliance partners made it possible.
Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper — copyright © Karl L. Swartz.
Our business-class flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Tokyo, Japan, was on Thai Airways. Because both Thai Airways and United Airlines are Star Alliance members, I was able to book this using my United miles.
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This is where it gets fun: look at all the miles in your frequent-flyer accounts. Have a large stash of Delta SkyMiles? Sure, you could fly Atlanta–Salt Lake City a couple of times—but wouldn’t it be more fun to fly New York to Paris on Air France (a SkyTeam member) and snap a totally legal photo of the Eiffel Tower? (Just don’t take an illegal one!)
I’m not going to dive into all the ways you can use miles to book trips—there are a lot. Simply being aware that alliances exist, and knowing which airlines belong to each, is the first step on your journey to mastering miles and points.
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3 comments
After reading and failing to understand some other content, I knew I could count on you guys to explain these alliances in a way I understand. I am starting to think about flights (perhaps open jaw) to Portugal next year and some of these carriers are major players. I want to make sure that I am accumulating points in the right programs to use for the airfare.
Not all airline alliances are equal I flew from JFK to London Heathrow on American Airlines business class). I flew back on British airline. they did not honor the same level of service. I ended up eating curry and I turn down the second meal that was curry so alliances between airline partners are not equal please please look into the connection before, you take a partners airline.
Also
I recently took two first class flights 5 hour flight to Las Vegas and return flight to New York City. The first flight was Delta. There was no food served -only a drink and a bag of chips -same on my return flight from Las Vegas to New York…no food, only a bag of chips.
What’s going on with first class? What happened to the meals they used to provide in first class? Why are we paying the extra money to sit in first class without amenities for domestic flights?
Is this deceptions something new that airlines are doing without letting passengers know there’s no food on first class. if American or Delta had let us know there wasn’t any meals, we could’ve purchased food at the airport. I had nothing to eat for five hours. I was so mad 😡
I didn’t wanna make a scene, but I let everyone know I was very upset!!
Can you please share this with other flyers because it’s something to take into consideration when paying extra money for first class and or business class
please don’t tell me we are paying extra money for 2 to 3 inches of space.
Thank you
@Joe, you should do a follow-up post about airline alliance elite statuses! There seems to be so much confusion about the benefits that carry/don’t carry across partner airlines. SkyTeam Elite Plus is probably the worst of the mid/top tier statuses, but for the entry level tier, ST Elite is slightly better than OW Ruby and miles ahead of *A Silver.
And, if you have time, maybe posts about cabin classes, too? The biggest mistakes I see are: 1. extra legroom economy (AA Main Cabin Extra, AS Premium Class, DL Comfort+, UA Economy Plus) vs. Premium Economy and 2. premium cabin confusion (Long-haul F, Long-haul business, domestic F, Euro C/J, etc.). It’s hilarious when people claim that Delta One is “first class” or “better than business class.”
Also, managing people’s expectations is important. Seats/amenities/catering all vary by airline, route, aircraft type, etc.