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Aviation glossary

Airline alliance

Also: global alliance, airline partnership

Airlines and business

Partnership of airlines that coordinate their networks, frequent flyer programmes, lounges and connections to give passengers a joined-up journey.

What it is

The three global alliances are Star Alliance, founded in 1997, oneworld, which began operating in 1999, and SkyTeam, formed in 2000. Their members remain independent companies, but they recognise each other's frequent flyer tiers, share airport lounges, coordinate schedules and make connections easier, with baggage checked through to the final destination.

Lufthansa and United, for instance, belong to Star Alliance; British Airways and Qantas to oneworld; and Air France, KLM and Delta to SkyTeam. Membership is not a merger but a commercial agreement, which some partners deepen with codeshares and joint ventures.

Airlines can switch alliances or leave them altogether, and some prefer bilateral partnerships without joining any.

On Vuelopedia

An airline page on Vuelopedia shows the alliance it belongs to, if any.

Lufthansa British Airways Delta Air Lines

Related terms

CodeshareAgreement under which an airline sells seats, under its own code and flight number, on a flight operated by another carrier. Frequent flyer programmeAirline loyalty scheme that rewards customers with miles or points redeemable for flights, and with status tiers that bring benefits when travelling. Joint ventureAgreement in which two or more airlines run a set of routes together and share revenue or profit, acting as a single business in that market. Airline groupHolding company that brings several airlines under one owner, with each usually keeping its own brand, operating certificate and airline codes. AirlineCompany that carries passengers, cargo or mail by air for payment, holding an air operator certificate issued by its national aviation authority.
Whole glossary

Cite

To cite this page in academic work, an article or Wikipedia, choose the style and copy the reference. The access date is today.

This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Airline alliance. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airline-alliance

MLA

“Airline alliance.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airline-alliance. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Airline alliance.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airline-alliance.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Airline alliance. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airline-alliance (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_airline_alliance,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Airline alliance}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airline-alliance},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airline-alliance}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/airline-alliance |title=Airline alliance |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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