What are airline alliances, and who’s in them?
Editor's Note
If you are an even moderately frequent flyer, you have likely taken advantage of the perks that airline alliances offer passengers. And if you’ve flown at all in the past two decades, you have heard airplane staff members mention them in an onboard announcement: "Thank you for flying Air X, a member of the Y alliance."
An airline alliance is an arrangement between two or more airlines that allows them to share resources and expand their route networks. Alliances make connections easier as they allow customers to travel on multiple airlines within the alliance on a single itinerary. Mileage collecting and spending is also easier because you can earn and redeem on partner airlines within the alliance.
Three of them include more than 50 airlines globally: Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld, in order of size. Since their appearance in the late 1990s, they have been a welcome innovation for flyers who have elite status because the status gets recognized by all partner airlines. If you’re a Delta Air Lines Medallion member, for example, you can get priority treatment from all other airlines that are members of SkyTeam.
Not everybody is a fan. While proponents say airline alliances help lower ticket costs, opponents say the opposite: Fares are higher due to reduced competition.
Pretty much every major airline is in an alliance, with relevant exceptions among the big global players being Emirates, Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia. Several large regional airlines also aren’t in alliances. This is the case for Southwest Airlines, JetBlue and WestJet in North America; Ryanair and EasyJet in Europe; and Air Asia. Occasionally, there are shifts within alliances as new member airlines join or members move to a different alliance.
Codeshare flights and mutual collections of miles don’t happen just between alliance members, though. Oftentimes, airlines outside alliances partner up with one another. For example, you can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to the Etihad Guest program and use the resulting miles to book a flight on JetBlue.
Related: What are codeshare flights, and how do they work?
So, here’s a list of which airlines are in which alliances. You’ll notice that each of the "Big Three" U.S. legacy carriers was a founding member of each one.
Star Alliance
The first airline alliance was founded on May 14, 1997, when Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways and United Airlines came together in a globe-spanning partnership. From its first day, Star Alliance served every inhabited continent, in a clear illustration of why alliances exist: You can travel pretty much everywhere on alliance carriers. If you are a frequent flyer, there’s an alliance with a value proposition for you based on the perks of loyalty and seamless connections wherever you’re based.
The alliance experienced a shake-up in 2024 when founding member SAS exited Star Alliance to join SkyTeam. Star Alliance currently has 25 members, flying 727 million passengers annually. It’s the biggest alliance by most metrics. It’s also the only one with at least one full member from every inhabited continent. The members are:
- Aegean Airlines
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air India
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Brussels Airlines
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- Egyptair
- Ethiopian Airlines
- EVA Airways
- LOT Polish Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Shenzhen Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- Swiss
- TAP Air Portugal
- Thai Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
Related: Your guide to Star Alliance airlines, lounges and elite status
Like airlines in the other two alliances, Star Alliance members paint one or more of their planes in special alliance colors. It’s become a tradition for alliance airlines. Those planes make coveted targets for aviation geeks with cameras, who collect images of as many special-color planes as possible.
SkyTeam
The newest alliance — founded in 2000 by Aeromexico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air — has since grown to be the second largest by airline members and people carried on its planes.
SkyTeam has seen recent additions, with Virgin Atlantic joining in March 2023 and SAS in September 2024. It also saw one recent departure, with Czech Airlines exiting in October 2024. The alliance currently has 19 members (not counting suspended member Aeroflot). It's based on all continents except Australia, flying 624 million passengers a year. The member airlines are:
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Europa
- Air France
- China Airlines
- China Eastern Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Garuda Indonesia
- ITA Airways
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Middle East Airlines
- SAS
- Saudia
- TAROM
- Vietnam Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Xiamen Airlines
Related: SkyTeam alliance guide: Member airlines, lounges and elite status
Like in the other alliances, its members paint some planes in alliance colors — but with a silver fuselage.
Oneworld
The second alliance to be formed, Oneworld was founded in 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. It's the smallest, both in terms of member airlines and number of passengers flown, totaling more than 500 million annually.
The alliance currently has 13 members (not counting suspended member S7 Airlines) but will soon be adding two new members: Fiji Airways and Oman Air. Oneworld became the only alliance with two members in the U.S., the biggest aviation market in the world, when Alaska Airlines joined the alliance in 2021.
The Oneworld members are:
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Air Maroc
- Royal Jordanian Airlines
- SriLankan Airlines
Related: Oneworld alliance guide: Learn about airlines, lounges and elite status
Oneworld members also paint some planes in alliance colors, but unlike the Star Alliance and SkyTeam liveries, there’s no alliance logo on the tail.
Bottom line
Knowing which airline is in which alliance is a crucial step in understanding how to maximize both your mileage earnings and redemptions. For paid flights, you can fly on one airline but credit your miles to the airline within the alliance with the best redemption rates or the airline program where you already may have existing miles. For flight redemptions, you can redeem your miles in one airline's program to fly on another.
Related reading:
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.