Aerolineas Argentinas tries to overcome troubled past and continued challenges as it enters SkyTeam

Aerolineas Argentinas formally joined the SkyTeam Alliance on 29-Aug-2012, completing an important component in the flag carrier's strategy to reverse several years of unprofitability and lacklustre service standards. SkyTeam will allow Aerolineas to virtually expand its relatively small and highly unprofitable international network as the carrier aims to quickly start codesharing with several current and prospective members. But the alliance alone will not fix Aerolineas' deep-rooted problems and the government-owned flag carrier still has to overcome several challenges to achieve sustained profitability.

For SkyTeam, Aerolineas Argentinas fills an important white spot in South America, a fast-growing region where the alliance previously lacked any local members. But SkyTeam still badly lags behind oneworld and Star in the increasingly important Latin American market. The alliance is now striving to woo Brazil's Gol as a new member, which would allow SkyTeam to close the gap with its rivals.