Panamanian carrier Copa Airlines has announced it will leave the Skyteam alliance on October 24, at the same time as strategic partner Continental defects to Star Alliance.
Copa is currently an associate member of Skyteam, and it comes as no surprise it is leaving the alliance, as the Latin American airline has strong ties with Continental, including participation in the US carrier’s OnePass frequent flyer programme.
Passengers may continue to earn and redeem miles for travel with Skyteam carriers up until October 24. It is not yet clear whether Copa Airlines will become a full member of Star Alliance along with Continental.
It’s been a busy week for the three main airline alliances, with rivals Star Alliance announcing that Greek carrier Aegean Airlines will join its fold (see online news May 26), and Oneworld announcing that it will add Russian carrier S7 Airlines to its group next year (see online news May 26).
For more information visit skyteam.com, copaair.com.
Report by Mark Caswell