Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is meanwhile edging closer to membership in the so-called Wings alliance based around the established partnership of KLM and Northwest Airlines.
The latest moves by airlines in the region come as All Nippon Airways formally joined the Star Alliance on 31 October and Singapore Airlines has confirmed it will join the same grouping by April 2000.
In KAL's case, airline sources say chief executive officers from Delta, Air France and Aeromexico met with the South Korean carrier in Washington DC late in October when a decision was taken to formally launch their new global alliance through a branding exercise early next year.
KAL's membership has been expected in the grouping, which will challenge the Star Alliance, oneworld and the growing alliance of Northwest, KLM and Alitalia - informally known as Wings.
KAL's entry will likely be viewed as a vote of confidence in the airline, which has had its reputation battered in recent years by accidents, coming under severe criticism at home and abroad for acting slowly to improve flight safety.
Meanwhile, MAS has been moving ever closer to the Wings alliance. Although it has long claimed no intention to join such a grouping, the Malaysian carrier has forged link with all three main partners.
That began with a codeshare deal with KLM in mid-1998 and now includes a partnership with Alitalia, announced late in October, covering thrice-weekly MAS-operated flights between Kuala Lumpur and Rome.
Just weeks earlier the carrier had confirmed plans for a sweeping tie-up with Northwest, initially covering code-sharing from January 2000 on MAS-operated flights between Kuala Lumpur and Los Angeles, and on Northwest-operated Kuala Lumpur-Detroit services.
The code-shares are to be expanded soon after to cover domestic points in both Malaysia and the USA as well as selected Malaysia-Asia routings and Malaysia-USA services via the Middle East and Europe. MAS already shares codes with KLM on services between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. The two also operate a joint freighter service between the two cities and have reciprocal ground-handling ties.
Source: Airline Business
