The Importance of Airline Alliances: My Advocacy after Five Years at SkyTeam

I Worked at SkyTeam from 2015 to 2020.

In June 2025, the SkyTeam airline alliance celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. A significant event!

SkyTeam’s nerve center is at its headquarters in Amsterdam. It consists of a small team of a few dozen people responsible for coordinating relationships and projects among the alliance’s nineteen member airlines.

That’s where I spent five years, from 2015 to 2020, leading the brand and communications team. As a French, I managed a Dutch, a Chinese, a Kenyan, a Brazilian, a Franco-German and an British in my team. My direct superior was an Italian, who reported to an American, who was replaced during my assignment by a British. My secretary was Russian. Among my colleagues, some were Indian, German, Czech, Saudi, Vietnamese, or Korean. A number even had multiple nationalities.

In this column, I share some personal reflections on what I learned working at SkyTeam.

The Purpose of Alliances from the Airlines’ Perspective

For those who don’t know why alliances were created, let’s start with a brief preamble on their purpose.

There are three major airline alliances that bring together some of the world’s leading international airlines:

• Star Alliance: Founded in 1997, Star Alliance is the world’s largest airline alliance. It has 26 members, including Lufthansa, United Airlines, Air Canada, and Singapore Airlines.
• oneworld: Launched in 1999, oneworld brings together airlines such as American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas.
• SkyTeam: Founded in 2000, SkyTeam brings together airlines such as Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM, Korean Air, Aeromexico, Aerolíneas Argentinas, and China Eastern.

These alliances were formed to facilitate cooperation among member airlines and offer benefits to their passengers.

The primary benefit for an airline joining an alliance is the ability to offer, through all other members, a much broader network than that served by its own aircraft. For example, Air France-KLM does not offer flights to Indonesia from Paris. However, with Garuda, its Indonesian partner within SkyTeam, the airline can sell flights to Surabaya or Jakarta, connecting with its Paris–Singapore flight. Conversely, Garuda can market flights to Marseille or Bergen, connecting with its Jakarta–Amsterdam flight.

Source: Skyteam

These alliances offer customers benefits such as easier connections for transit passengers, interconnected loyalty programs, and harmonized service standards.

Each of the three alliances has a central body with small teams whose objective is to manage the alliance and facilitate relations between members.

Of course, this is a simplified view, but if you’re interested, you’ll find plenty of articles online explaining how airline alliances work, their advantages, and their limitations. I want to talk to you about them from other angles.

Stereotypes about People Have some Truth, but at SkyTeam, I Learned to Move beyond Them.

Unconsciously or not, we all have stereotypes about the personality and behavior of foreigners. For example, we usually think that Germans ae disciplined but rigid, Dutch tolerant but direct, Brazilians festive but unpunctual, Russians proud and resilient but harsh, French sophisticated and elegant but complainers and arrogant, Chinese good traders and skillful but calculating, etc.

Working in a very international environment is fascinating, because I learned to move beyond the stereotypes I had about foreign peoples to discover individuals and their unique characters. However, I also observed that, despite everything, specific values are indeed common to certain nationalities. It’s all a matter of nuance and the ability to listen to your interlocutors without prejudice.

The Sense of Hierarchy Varies across Cultures.

Thus, the sense of hierarchy can be a source of many misunderstandings in such a context. A Chinese person will respect a decision from his or her boss without questioning it. Conversely, a Dutchman will consider it their role to challenge their superior. An American will accept a debate, but they will not tolerate it not being implemented once a decision is made. A Frenchman, on the other hand, will be less inclined to discuss a decision, but will only apply it if it seems relevant to him or her. As a manager, this required a lot of subtlety and tact! At SkyTeam, I learned to listen better and assimilate other cultural codes.

Source: SkyTeam – 2016 visual

Dutch Colleagues Abroad at Home!

I think the most astonishing experience was that of my Dutch colleagues. The status of SkyTeam’s headquarters fell under Dutch law, as we were based in Amsterdam. We were on their home turf, and the temptation was strong for them to behave as they would in a local company. But SkyTeam was anything but Dutch, and they, like all of us, had to adapt to this international environment.

More than the Way It’s Expressed, It’s the Intention that Matters.

Like everyone else, I made mistakes and may have offended some of my interlocutors. But, as my Italian boss used to tell me, the important thing is the intention. If it’s good, there’s no reason for the relationship to deteriorate. More than in all my previous positions, I learned the importance of benevolence in human relationships.

At SkyTeam, I Especially Realized how Similar Men and Women around the World are

At SkyTeam, we regularly organized meetings with our members. The principle was to meet somewhere in the world for one or two days to discuss SkyTeam’s strategy and policy.

Our goal was to get our projects approved and, above all, to gain the support of our members so that they would implement them within their own companies. This was far from easy, as the small SkyTeam team based in Amsterdam had no hierarchical power over the members.

Behind the scenes of international meetings: no, it wasn’t tourism

I led these meetings all over the world, including Seattle, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Rome, or Seoul as examples. Some senior executives from our member airlines mistakenly thought we were on a sightseeing trip. The reality is that we enabled teams to forge human and professional connections on a global scale. Thus, when I read articles about China or Africa today, I don’t see countries but the faces of women and men with whom I’ve had human interactions.

As these meetings progressed, we came to know each other, and ultimately, we realized that what brought us together as human beings was more important than what set us apart.

Discovering You’re less Alone Thanks to the Alliance

This struck me even more during a meeting of social media experts. Indeed, in small companies, often only one person constituted the team in charge of this area. At this meeting, I saw the pleasure everyone had—whether they were Mexican, Romanian, American, or Spanish—in discussing common issues. As much as they might feel alone and misunderstood in their own company, with a somewhat unique job, by meeting with their SkyTeam colleagues, they felt they belonged to a true community.

SkyTeam social media meetings in Guangzhou (Wechat) and Palo Alto (Facebook)

I felt this sense of belonging at every international gathering with our members.

A Memorable Event: Filming Commercials with Flight Attendants from Member Airlines.

One of my fondest memories is the filming of the commercials we produced with the BETC agency in Bangkok in 2018. We chose to convey our messages by having a flight attendant from each of our nineteen member airlines represent us. These were not models, but real flight crew members.

I can only attest to the incredible atmosphere of enthusiasm among the flight attendants during this shoot, which was physically demanding. The fact that they shared the same profession was, in their eyes, more important than the passport they held.

Source: SkyTeam

We were very proud of the films produced, as evidenced by the one presenting the “SkyTeam brand manifesto”.

Ultimately, what unites us as humans on this earth is stronger than the differences or conflicts that, unfortunately, some of our state leaders want to impose on us.

The Complexity of the World is not Compatible with Manichaean Views.

The geopolitical stakes of our planet were reflected at SkyTeam. For example, among our members, we had China Airlines, based in Taiwan, as well as China Eastern and Xiamen Airlines, both based in mainland China. Despite the tensions between these countries, which are regularly reported by the press, I could only observe the good understanding between our Chinese and Taiwanese interlocutors, even in terms of connivance. I knew that before coming to our meetings, they would consult with each other to, most often, adopt a common position.

Where a Simple Map Becomes a Diplomatic Issue

But sometimes, politics caught up with us. SkyTeam prided itself on being the alliance with the strongest presence in China. What better way to illustrate this than a map highlighting our various hubs in that region of the world? This quickly became a serious diplomatic issue, reaching the highest levels of management at the Chinese airlines. How could we simultaneously show a unified China and a Taiwan that proclaims itself independent? Our answer was full of subtlety!

Screenshot – SkyTeam brand manifesto 2017

In Lebanon, a Fully Embraced Linguistic Diversity

At our Lebanese partner, Middle East Airlines, speaking French, English, Arabic, or a mix of the three was never an issue — which surprised our Belgian colleagues, where the use of French or Flemish can quickly become a source of tension.

In Lebanon, it is rather belonging to different religious communities that constitutes a sensitive subject, whereas this is less the case in Belgium.

A Lost Dream: Collaboration with Aeroflot

I remember my Russian colleagues and the friendly relationship that we used to have. At that time, Aeroflot was still part of the alliance. I had witnessed the incredible transformation of this airline, between my first flight in 1999 on an ancient Tupolev, built to Soviet standards, between Moscow and Irkutsk, and my last trip from Amsterdam to Moscow to Hanoi in 2019, on ultra-modern planes with high-quality service.

We had many plans for the future, and one of my last meetings before leaving SkyTeam was scheduled in Moscow in March 2020… But Covid and the war in Ukraine intervened, and our dreams collapsed. 

Source: Wikimedia (left)

Saudi Arabia: a Country less Caricatured than the Image Held by the West

I also went to Jeddah to visit our partner Saudia Airlines. I had some apprehension about traveling to this country, known for the strict enforcement of Islamic laws. What a surprise it was to see women driving or strolling casually on the corniche, without worrying about the religious police! I discovered that Saudi Arabia is undergoing significant societal changes, and the country is far less caricatured than the image we have of it in the West.

Source: Saudia

The Very Proud and Powerful American Delta Airlines

Among our members, Delta Air Lines’ position clearly illustrated a particular form of American imperialism: a powerful, very self-assured airline, thanks to solid results achieved, particularly in its enormous domestic market.

I had the opportunity to participate in several of their conventions for managers. Without the slightest subtlety, superlatives like “we are the best airline in the world” guided the presentations. I was struck by their difficulty understanding the world through prisms other than America’s.

However, I believe that Delta’s membership in SkyTeam at least somewhat forced them to nuance their approach and realize that the planet does not revolve solely around the United States.

I Realized What Using English as the Language of the Tower of Babel Implied.

I quickly learned at SkyTeam that communicating, both within the Amsterdam office and with our members scattered across the globe, was a real challenge.

Naturally, English was our working and communication language. This didn’t pose a significant difficulty within the SkyTeam office, as the general level was high.

“I Sink it is Better like Zat”: how to be Understood in English with a French Accent?

It was in our exchanges with member airlines that the limitations of this language became apparent. Like everyone else, I had to get used to the diversity of accents… and my interlocutors to mine, with my very strong French accent!

Getting messages across, arguing, and understanding our members’ viewpoints and requests was far from easy, especially since their English proficiency varied greatly.

Credit: Richard Desrousseaux

For Native English Speakers, the Illusion of a Shared Language

Native English speakers thought they had an advantage due to their natural command of the language. However, were they truly understood by non-native speakers? Given their rapid speech, rich vocabulary, and intensive use of idiomatic expressions, I strongly doubted it.

Conversely, did they truly understand the English spoken by their non-native interlocutors? Nothing was less certain, especially since most of them were unaware of the difficulty of expressing oneself in a foreign language.

Learning to Communicate with International English

Due to the deafness I’ve suffered since birth, I was undoubtedly more receptive than others to the difficulty of communicating globally. I repeatedly tried to make my colleagues aware of the need to use a more international and simpler English, perhaps more inspired by Esperanto than by Shakespeare’s language.

I understood that, in a world where international relations are becoming increasingly important, even more than cultural differences, the difficulty of sharing a common language should not be underestimated. If this is true for an airline alliance, it is equally valid for other organizations or governments, which must exchange with each other, sometimes on subjects as sensitive as conflicts.

My Conviction is that Airline Alliances are a Symbol of Peace in the World

Between the fall of the Soviet Empire and the COVID crisis, the world believed in the benefits of globalization. We lived through a period when many countries opened up to each other, particularly Russia and China.

What if SkyTeam Had Replaced Airline Brands? A Utopian Dream

Airline alliances, born at the beginning of this century, are one concretization of globalization. SkyTeam’s founding fathers dreamed somewhat crazy—and never fully formalized—that eventually, the alliance would become a single company, replacing the multitude of brands composing it.

Each member was required to have a few planes in the alliance’s colors as a symbol. A totem representing all members was to be displayed at each step of the customer journey in the airport.

The Limits of an Ideal of Unity in an Increasingly Fragmented World

The complexity of international relations and the rise of nationalisms have shown the limits of such a utopia. Thus, with the war between Ukraine and Russia, despite the quality of the ties that united Aeroflot with other SkyTeam members, the Russian airline had to suspend its membership in the alliance overnight.

Delta Air Lines put its interests before SkyTeam’s, by forging partnerships — with, for example, LATAM, the Brazilian airline — without involving the alliance.

Air France wished to replace the SkyTeam logo with the seahorse, the company’s historical symbol, in order to better differentiate itself.

Today, I note that SkyTeam remains essential for our member airlines, but more on a commercial and pragmatic level than on the symbolic level of a global and supranational entity. I regret it a little.

The Geopolitical Fragility of Airline Alliances

The nightmare would be that, faced with the generalization of conflicts and national retrenchments, airline alliances disappear for reasons unrelated to air transport.

If one day a war broke out in the South China Sea, could we still imagine China Eastern (mainland Chinese), China Airlines (Taiwanese), and Delta (American) maintaining friendly relations within the same alliance?

How can Scandinavian SAS and Delta remain in the same alliance if the United States one day decides to forcibly conquer Greenland?

That’s when you realize that SkyTeam is a symbol of world peace — a symbol that we must carefully preserve.

The SkyTeam Logo: a Strong Symbol to Illustrate the Vocation of Airline Alliances to Connect Peoples

The primary purpose of air transport is to connect men and women across the world. In this regard, the ribbon symbolizing the SkyTeam logo is remarkable. A French agency, Brandimage, created it. Elegant in its design, it represents the bond between members and peoples worldwide. I invite you to watch this beautiful video by Alain Doré, the creator of the magnificent SkyTeam logo, which hasn’t aged a bit in 25 years.

Long Live SkyTeam’s 100 Years!

So, from the bottom of my heart, I wish SkyTeam a very happy anniversary. It has given me some of the best years of my professional life. And if, one day, we celebrate SkyTeam’s 100th anniversary, it would be a sign that the world isn’t doing so badly after all!

A Plane with a SkyTeam Livery is a Sign of Good Luck!

As I used to tell my team: every time we see a plane with a SkyTeam livery at an airport, it’s a sign of good luck! My experience has shown me that this is very often true.