Airline Alliances – What Are They & Why You Should Know About them

Airline Alliances can be downright confusing. Knowing which airlines belong to which alliance and who they partner with, etc., can be an easy way to book the flights you want and maximize the miles you earn. Redeeming miles is one of the hardest things about the miles & points hobby. Finding availability can be difficult, but knowing which airlines partner with whom makes it a lot easier.

Three main airline alliances exist: OneWorld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam. Below is the list of member airlines for each alliance.

OneWorld (OW)

The airlines that belong to the OneWorld Alliance are:

  • Alaska Airlines
  • American Airlines,
  • British Airways
  • Cathay Pacific
  • Fiji Airways
  • Finnair
  • Iberia
  • Japan Airlines
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Oman Air
  • Qantas
  • Qatar
  • Royal Air Maroc
  • Royal Jordanian
  • Sri Lankan Airlines

Star Alliance (*A)

The Star Alliance member airlines are:

  • Aegean Airlines
  • Air Canada
  • Air China
  • Air India
  • Air New Zealand
  • All-Nippon Airways (ANA)
  • Asiana
  • Austrian
  • Avianca
  • Brussels Airlines
  • Copa Airlines
  • Croatia Airlines
  • EgyptAir
  • Ethiopian Airlines
  • EVA
  • LOT Polish Airlines
  • Lufthansa
  • Scandinavian Airlines
  • Shenzhen Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines
  • South African Airways
  • SWISS
  • TAP Portugal
  • Thai
  • Turkish Airlines
  • United

SkyTeam (ST)

SkyTeam member airlines are Aeroflot (currently suspended), Aerolineas Argentinas, AeroMexico, Air Europoa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Delta, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways (somewhat formerly known as Alitalia), Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia Airlines, Tarom, and Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Xiamen Air.

What are the benefits of knowing the alliance member airlines?

The benefit of knowing about airline alliances is knowing which airlines you can travel on and earning frequent flier miles (and usually elite qualifying points/miles) on your preferred airline. For example, I can fly on Air France Airlines LAX-Paria and earn Delta SkyMiles. Or NewYork to Johannesburg on South African and earn United miles. I think you got the point.

This not only helps you accumulate miles on your preferred airlines. But also you can usually fly on the partner airlines when you are redeeming your miles. I can redeem my AA miles to fly on Cathay Pacific to China, or Delta SkyMiles (as they are called) to fly on Korean Air to Seoul. As you can see, It greatly expands your travel options.

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