October - 2019

SkyTeam operates more than
17,000 departures a day to 1,150+
destinations in 175+ countries, and
offers SkyTeam members 750+
lounges in airports worldwide.
SkyTeam
SAFARI NJEMA / 79
✈ Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam is a
major airline alliance that consists of 19
carriers from 5 continents.
1966
Air France became the first
Western airline to serve the
People’s Republic of China
by establishing a link
between Paris
and Shanghai.
86
YEARS
50
YEARS
years of combined experience
60
YEARS
70
YEARS
71
YEARS
1972
Korean Air – the world’s largest
trans-Pacific airline – ran its first-ever
passenger route from Seoul to LA.
Milestones
Age Is More
Than Just A Number
This year is a very special one for SkyTeam because
KLM, one of our founding member airlines, marks its
centenary. The Dutch carrier is the oldest airline in the
world still operating under its original name.
1966
China Airlines
inaugurated the first
international route
from Taipei to Saigon.
1964
Alitalia carried Pope Paul VI
on his first papal pilgrimage
to the Holy Land – the first
pope to ever travel by plane.
1982
Garuda Indonesia were the first to
use the Forward Facing Crew Cockpit
concept with the Airbus A300-B4.
74
YEARS
69 1961
YEARS Aerolíneas Argentinas
completed the first
round-the-world trip in
a commercial aircraft.
96
YEARS
1994
MEA welcomed
Captain Rola Hoteit
– its first female pilot.
1957
Czech Airlines became the first
airline in the world to fly a route
exclusively with jet airliners,
between Prague and Moscow.
31
YEARS
1919
Founded in 1919, KLM
is the oldest airline still
operating under its
original name.
1997
China Eastern became the first Chinese
airline to list on the New York, Hong
Kong and Shanghai stock markets.
96
YEARS
2006
Aeroflot joined
SkyTeam.
If you combined the ages of all
19 of SkyTeam’s member airlines,
it would total an astounding
1,295 years: a reassuring figure
you can rely on. From being the
pioneers of industry to breaking
records and collecting world
“firsts”, here are just a few of our
members’ biggest achievements.
Aerolíneas Argentinas, established in
1949, secured its name in the history
books after it flew non-stop between
Madrid and Buenos Aires in 1966.
The flight took just over 11.5 hours,
setting a new world record.
Russia’s Aeroflot was the first airline
to introduce the Tupolev Tu-104,
which is considered to be the first
successful jet-powered aircraft.
In 2006, Aeroméxico became the
first Latin American carrier to fly from
its home country to Tokyo’s Narita
International Airport 13. It remains
the only Latin American airline to fly
that route.
Air France connected the People’s
Republic of China to the West when
it opened its inaugural route from
Paris to Shanghai in 1966.
This year, Air Europa became the first
international company to be granted
a licence to operate scheduled
domestic flights in Brazil.
95
2009
YEARS
Delta became
the only U.S. airline
to serve six continents
by introducing
nonstop flights
between Los Angeles
and Sydney.
128
YEARS
2010
TAROM and Vietnam
Airlines both joined
SkyTeam.
42
YEARS
2007
Kenya Airways
joined SkyTeam.
2006
85
YEARS
Aeromexico flight MEX-NRT took its
first flight to Tokyo – the only Latin
American carrier still flying to Asia today.
2017
XiamenAir became
the first airline to sign a
74
2014
cooperation agreement
YEARS Saudi Arabia’s national carrier
with the United Nations
33
SAUDIA operates from all of
YEARS
promoting a set of
the country’s 27 airports. In
2014, it started flying to LA, global goals
still its longest route with a for sustainable 35
flight time of nearly 17 hours!
development.
YEARS
2019
Air Europa became the
first international company
to be granted a license
to operate scheduled
domestic flights in Brazil.
Alitalia, whose maiden voyage was
from Turin to Catania via Rome on 5
May 1947, was the very first airline
to transport Pope Paul VI abroad in
1964.
~ Follow our tips next time you fly and
you’ll discover how getting there can
be as enjoyable as your destination.
Visit skyteam.com to find out more.
SkyTeam. Age is more than just a number.