China Southern joins SkyTeam

BEIJING –China Southern Airlines officially became the 11th full member of SkyTeam today, making the alliance the first to welcome a carrier from the mainland of China. China is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world and the addition of China Southern allows SkyTeam to provide its customers around the world with greater travel options to one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

With the addition of China Southern Airlines, SkyTeam now serves approximately 428 million annual passengers through a worldwide system of 16,400 daily flights covering 841 destinations in 162 countries.

The addition of China Southern also bolsters the alliance’s global hub network with the addition of New Baiyun International Airport, a well-positioned, modern hub in Guangzhou, and Beijing Capital International Airport. China Southern is the first carrier in China to operate its own terminal at Beijing Capital International Airport, China’s busiest hub.

China Southern Airlines made significant progress and fulfilled all SkyTeam alliance membership requirements since signing a memorandum for membership in August 2004. The carrier earned recognition as a SkyTeam member airline after reaching a number of agreements with each of the alliance member carriers, including bilateral codeshare, frequent flyer and lounge agreements.