What are the 3 main airline alliances?

There are three major airline alliances: SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld. Each has different partner airlines. You may have benefitted from an alliance without even realizing it.



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Everything You Need to Know About Star Alliance, the World's Largest Airline Alliance. Here's everything frequent fliers should know about the Star Alliance, including member airlines, benefits, and more.

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Star leadership in Frankfurt and Chicago would have vetoed the plan. Emirates Airlines is a unique airline that has chosen to remain independent and not join any of the leading airline alliances. This allows them to maintain their own identity, while still providing customers with access to an extensive global network.

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Budget airlines, also, are chosen not for their ease, efficiency or amiability, but solely on the basis of their price – and so RyanAir and EasyJet, among others, are not part of any alliance.

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Alliance. Emirates has collaborated with other airlines, but is not a member of any of the three global airline alliances – Oneworld, SkyTeam, or Star Alliance.

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Etihad Airways isn't a member of any airline alliances. However, you can earn Etihad Guest miles when flying with any of the airline's 20-plus partners, which span all three of the major airline alliances, as outlined below.

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Star Alliance was established on May 14, 1997, and Turkish Airlines joined in April 2008, becoming its 21st member. This membership allows our customers to benefit from a wider flight network, special passenger programs, and special offers. Star Alliance in figures: 4,338 aircraft.

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Oneworld. Founded in 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Canadian Airlines (which later merged with Air Canada and subsequently joined Star Alliance), the Oneworld alliance is the smallest major airline alliance but now stands strong with 13 airlines.

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The biggest alliance is Star Alliance, which has 28 member airlines such as United, Lufthansa, and Air Canada. The second biggest is SkyTeam, which has 19 members including Delta, KLM, and Air France. The third biggest alliance is Oneworld, which has 13 members including American Airlines, British Airways, and Qantas.

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The current list of non-alliance partners includes:
  • Jet Airways.
  • Aegean Airlines - another leftover Star Alliance partner.
  • Air China - yet another leftover Star Alliance partner.
  • Hawaiian Airlines - (inter-island and South Pacific flights only).
  • South African Airways - another leftover Star Alliance partner.


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According to AirlineRatings.com's latest list, the Abu Dhabi-based national carrier Etihad Airways has been rated third while Emirates has been ranked 10th best carrier in the world. Dubai's flagship carrier also won the highest rating for the best-in-flight entertainment and best premium economy.

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Ryanair's low fares are a result of clever cost-cutting tactics, such as eliminating in-flight amenities, using cheaper secondary airports, and charging for extras like drinks and snacks.

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Ryanair UK is a British low-cost airline with a second base at Stansted Airport. The airline is the UK subsidiary of the low-cost Irish airline group Ryanair Holdings and a sister airline to Ryanair, Buzz, and Malta Air.

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Ryanair Group has 514 aircraft, 59% more than easyJet. Both are much bigger than Europe's second tier independent LCCs, which are similar in size to the legacy groups' LCC subsidiaries. IAG has the biggest narrowbody LCC fleet of the legacy groups, followed by Lufthansa Group, but Air France-KLM's is growing fastest.

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