BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE
Alliance airlines in talks with Panama carrier while rival group looks to replace Mexicana
SkyTeam is poised to further cement its dominance in Mexico and Central America with the expected addition of Panama's Copa Airlines.
Copa, which has been aligned with Continental Airlines since 1998, is in talks to add alliances next year with Continental partners Alitalia, Delta Air Lines, KLM and Northwest Airlines.
"We will probably do something first with Alitalia and later in the year with Delta and KLM," says Copa chief executive Pedro Heilbron. "Although it is still not clear on the exact role for Copa Airlines in SkyTeam or the timing to join, we do expect to participate in it. Our centrally located hub in the Americas in Panama and network of intra-Latin American routes will be a valuable addition to the group."
Continental and Northwest also plan to join SkyTeam next year on the heels of their new triple alliance with SkyTeam co-founder Delta. SkyTeam already includes Aeromexico, but Copa has a codeshare with outgoing Star Alliance member Mexicana. Aeromexico and Mexicana parent Cintra plan a restructuring that could include more co-operation between the two Mexican carriers and potentially lead to both participating in SkyTeam.
With Mexicana due to leave the alliance on 31 March, Star is searching for a new partner in Mexico or Central America. But with Mexico's two main carriers and Copa not interested, Star is banking on Grupo TACA joining.
TACA, flag carrier for all Central American countries except Panama, is now affiliated with Oneworld member American Airlines. But Star is hoping to gain TACA as a member because rival LanChile is already part of Oneworld. TACA and LanChile have started to cross paths in recent years as they both have been trying to expand by establishing new affiliates in Latin American countries that have weak or no flag carriers, such as Ecuador and Peru.
Continental will also extend SkyTeam's domination in Mexico and Central America because its Houston hub has connections to over 30 cities in the region.
Copa serves 30 destinations in the Americas from its Panama City hub with a fleet of 16 Boeing 737-700/800s and six 737-200s that are to be replaced with new 737-700s/800s over the next two years.
Star Alliance is to establish a joint fuel procurement firm next year to purchase jet fuel more cheaply for its member airlines. FuelCo will be based in the USAand will manage fuel procurement at selected airports worldwide. Star chief executive Jaan Albrecht says FuelCo will complete large purchases to "bring the unit cost and complexity down". Star is also working on a joint customer reservation system.Source: Flight International
