In celebration of its fifth anniversary,
the SkyTeam alliance today reflected on accomplishments to-date and outlined
strategic focus areas for its next five years and beyond.  Members Aeromexico,
Air France, Alitalia, Continental Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air
Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air and Northwest Airlines pledged to
work together on key initiatives, including customer service enhancements,
development of the alliance network to accommodate anticipated passenger
growth and implementation of technology and e-Services alliance-wide.On June 22, 2000, Aeromexico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air
launched the SkyTeam alliance.  “Five years ago, four carriers outlined a goal
of providing more choices, better service and expanding offerings,” said Jean-
Cyril Spinetta, chairman and CEO, Air France-KLM.  “Since that time, the
alliance has surpassed those objectives and has grown dramatically in terms of
members, service offerings and amenities, always maintaining our customer
focus.”

  Membership Development
  SkyTeam has grown from four to nine members, with the addition of CSA
Czech Airlines and Alitalia in 2001 and Continental, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
and Northwest last September.
  SkyTeam signed agreements with Aeroflot and China Southern in 2004, which
paved the way for their future entry into SkyTeam.  Both carriers are making
solid progress to fulfill the alliance’s joining requirements.  In addition,
earlier this month, SkyTeam announced the first airlines to participate in the
Associate program—Air Europa, Copa Airlines, Kenya Airways and Tarom.  “As
part of our focus on the customer, SkyTeam will continue to grow in a
carefully planned way that provides the most benefits to our passengers,” said
Yang-Ho Cho, chairman and CEO of Korean Air.

  Network Expansion
  SkyTeam has grown from a combined fleet of 979 offering 6,402 daily
departures to 451 destinations in 98 countries in 2000 to a fleet of 2,069
aircraft offering 15,207 daily departures to 684 global destinations in more
than 130 countries in 2005.
  Since its inception, SkyTeam members have been committed to providing
greater connectivity to passengers via the hub-and-spokes model.  Strategic
network development will continue to be a key initiative, as demonstrated in
the investments being made in aircraft, equipment and facilities.  For
example, several member airlines have placed orders for superjumbo jets that
will serve the alliance’s major hubs, including Incheon and CDG.  The alliance
is also focused on providing complementary point-to-point service to offer a
network that best meets passenger needs.  In addition, the alliance is
currently exploring possibilities for new, larger colocated facilities at
Beijing, Madrid and Tokyo.

  Using Technology to Enhance Passenger Services
  SkyTeam has grown from serving 174.3 million annual passengers as of July
2000 to serving 343.6 million annual passengers as of April 2005.
  Even before IATA announced its “Simplifying the Business” proposal,
SkyTeam members have been investing in e-Services to improve the passenger
experience.  With nearly half of the agreements between members already in
place, SkyTeam will offer alliance-wide interline e-ticketing by the end of
the year.  The alliance is also exploring the future enhancement of individual
carriers’ kiosks for all alliance customers and the use of RFID (Radio
Frequency Identification) in baggage tracking.
  “Our focus for the next five years is improving service for our customers
and providing them with new product offerings,” said Gerald Grinstein, CEO of
Delta Air Lines.  “With further progress in the area of e-Services, closer
coordination among members and more service options for passengers, we are
giving our customers even more reasons to choose SkyTeam.”
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