Airline Alliances Explained: Star Alliance vs oneworld vs SkyTeam

An airline alliance is a group of airlines that agree to work together so passengers can fly on several of them as if they were one network. There are three global alliances: Star Alliance (26 member airlines), SkyTeam (18) and oneworld (15). In India, Air India is part of Star Alliance, while IndiGo is not in any alliance.

Here is how the three compare, who is in each, and what being in an alliance means for you, using figures from the alliances’ own websites in October 2026.

Airline Alliances at a Glance

Sources: Star Alliance members page; SkyTeam facts and figures; oneworld members page. “-” means the alliance does not state the figure on the pages we used.

What Is an Airline Alliance?

No single airline can fly everywhere. An alliance links the networks of several airlines so a passenger can fly one member airline to its hub and connect to another member airline onward on the same trip. Members also share frequent flyer benefits and airport lounges. All three alliances say you can earn and redeem miles across their member airlines.

An alliance is broader than a codeshare. In a codeshare, two airlines sell seats on each other’s flights under their own flight numbers; see our guide to codeshare flights. An alliance goes further, adding shared loyalty, lounge and connection benefits across the whole group.

Star Alliance

Star Alliance calls itself the world’s largest airline alliance. It was founded in 1997 (founding member Air Canada joined in May 1997) and its 26 members serve more than 1,150 airports in 190 countries, which it says covers 90% of the world.

Members: Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, ITA Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss, TAP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United.

Air India joined Star Alliance in July 2014. Star Alliance also lists Juneyao Air as a connecting partner.

SkyTeam

SkyTeam was formed in 2000 and is headquartered in Amsterdam. Its members fly to more than 960 destinations in over 165 countries, with more than 13,880 daily departures, more than 667 million passengers a year and over 850 lounges. It says it offers the most comprehensive priority services of any alliance.

Members: Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, SAS, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and XiamenAir.

oneworld

oneworld says its network serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories, with hundreds of airport lounges.

Members: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Fiji Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian and SriLankan Airlines. Philippine Airlines is listed as a future member. S7 Airlines’ membership has been suspended since 19 April 2022.

What an Alliance Means for Passengers

• Earn and burn miles: collect miles on any member airline and spend them with your own airline’s programme.
• Status across airlines: elite frequent flyers get perks such as lounge access and priority services on other members too.
• Smoother connections: one trip across several member airlines, through what Star Alliance calls a seamless network.
• Round-the-world fares: Star Alliance and oneworld both sell round-the-world tickets on their websites.

Note what an alliance does not do: each member is still a separate airline with its own fares and service. Some planes are even flown by one airline for another under a wet lease.

Airline Alliances and India

Air India is the only Indian airline in a global alliance, as a Star Alliance member since July 2014. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, is not in any alliance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Featured image: FlyingFuel graphic using a photo of Air India Boeing 787-8 VT-ANU in Star Alliance livery by Mitchul Hope, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.