Alliances, Joint Ventures Code Sharing and Partnerships

The race is on! Global alliances, joint ventures, and partnerships are mushrooming everywhere, and travelers are bewildered more than ever. Three major alliances have emerged: Star Alliance, led by United and Lufthansa and 25 other carriers-minus Spanair now. Sky Team: 15 airlines with Delta, Air France and KLM One World: 12 airlines including American Airlines and British Airways. On the surface, the idea is a good one. These alliances provide global coverages that are too costly and impractical for individual airlines to develop on their own. They share their flight networks and facilitate the sale and marketing to achieve economies of scale. The strategies of the alliances vary widely, and some of their partnerships are only nominal. There are major "managing" airlines and others that are solely there to fill geographic gaps. There are big inconsistencies in their corporate identities and cultures punctuated by total lack of synergies that cause issues to surface. Airlines also have different reasons and goals for being part of alliances. Even joint ventures, the strongest form of partnerships will result in the "partners" competing against each other in many situations and routes. www.premieretravel.com