SkyTeam celebrates 10th anniversary; China Eastern signs agreement; TAROM joins alliance

SkyTeam celebrated (22-Jun-2010) the 10th anniversary of the alliance and announced plans as follows:

• Growth since founding: From its founding in 2000 by Aeroméxico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air, SkyTeam has grown to 13 members in 2010, including the recent addition of Vietnam Airlines and the planned addition of TAROM on 25-Jun-2010. SkyTeam carriers offer approximately 13,000 daily flights to 898 destinations in 169 countries, up from 6,402 daily flights to 451 destinations in 98 countries at its inception. This means the alliance has more than tripled its membership, doubled flights and nearly doubled destinations since its founding in 2000;
• Growth in Asia/China Eastern Adherence Agreement: China Eastern signed an Adherence Agreement with SkyTeam, formally starting its process of joining the alliance. SkyTeam's Managing Director, Marie-Joseph Malé, outlined the value of a second Chinese member in the alliance, commenting: "Asia is a very important growth market for SkyTeam, and we are well on track to strengthen our offering in this fast-growing part of the world. With our newest member Vietnam Airlines, and China Eastern joining us in the future, we will offer our customers 10%more daily flights than today. Combined with China Southern and Korean Air, these four Asian carriers will further strengthen SkyTeam's presence in Asia and position us for future growth. And we still intend to add more Asian carriers to our group, thus firmly consolidating SkyTeam as THE alliance for Asia";
• Cooperation: SkyTeam pledged to further "intensify cooperation" and develop the alliance network;
• Future Focus: SkyTeam stated it is focused on growing its presence in other regions of the world, such as Latin America, Southeast Asia and India;
• Renewed membership programme: SkyTeam's 10-year anniversary also marks the introduction of a new membership programme. With the new programme, SkyTeam now fully integrates all members into the alliance. With this reclassification, Air Europa, Kenya Airways and new member TAROM will be referred to as member airlines as opposed to associate airlines. [more - SkyTeam] [more - Air France]