SkyTeam says would welcome KLM, Continental entry = = = = Thursday November 14, 2:37 PM EST = (Adds comments and details throughout) By Estelle Shirbon VENICE, Italy, Nov 14 (Reuters) -The SkyTeam alliance of international ai= rlines, seeking to extend its reach, said on Thursday it would welcome Du= tch flag carrier KLM and U.S. carriers Continental Airlines and Northwest= Airlines as members. SkyTeam, a marketing alliance of six airlines led by No. 3 U.S. carrier D= elta (DAL) and Air France (AIRF) ,said bringing on the three airlines wou= ld allow it to compete even more aggressively against bigger rivals OneWo= rld and Star Alliance. "These are three major companies, three significant players which maybe w= ill join SkyTeam," Air France CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta told a news confere= nce just after a meeting of all six SkyTeam member airline chiefs. = "This would make us the first or second airline alliance in the world," s= aid Francesco Mengozzi, head of member airline Alitalia (AZPa). KLM (KLM) is already in talks with Air France to develop closer ties but = doubts had lingered as to whether it would be welcome within SkyTeam due = to an ongoing conflict with jilted partner Alitalia. KLM pulled out of a tie-up with Alitalia two years ago, balking at state = control over the Italian airline. The SkyTeam CEOs gave no timeframe for possible entry of KLM, Continental= (CAL) and Northwest (NWAC) into the marketing alliance, saying it depend= ed on the progress of the Air France/KLM talks. Air France's Spinetta said the talks were exploring whether consolidation= between the French and Dutch flag carriers' networks would be profitable= for both airlines as well as for Air France partner Alitalia. "If these discussions are positive we will enter more formal phases of ne= gotiations," Spinetta said. Asked whether an Air France/KLM tie-up could = include a share-swap, he said a swap was not under discussion in the curr= ent talks, but did not rule it out in the future. Spinetta also said further consolidation in the European airline industry= , hard hit by a downturn in demand for air travel, was both inevitable an= d desirable. In a similar vein, Mengozzi said he expected the European airline industr= y would look radically different in a few years, with far fewer national = flag carriers. Delta Chief Executive Leo Mullin said the entry of Continental and Northw= est into SkyTeam would depend on the outcome of a U.S. administration rev= iew of a domestic U.S. alliance deal between Delta and those two airlines= , which he said he was optimistic would be positive. SkyTeam, which also includes Korean Air (03490), Czech Airlines (CSA) and= AeroMexico, would welcome other new partners in the longer term, several= of the CEOs said. Noting that Air France recently signed a code-share deal with Russian car= rier Aeroflot (AFLT) on flights between Paris and Moscow, Spinetta said t= he ultimate goal was for Aeroflot to join SkyTeam, though that would not = take place for a few years. Mullin added that SkyTeam felt it had a gap in South America and would be= keen to enlist another South East Asian carrier, but he did not mention = any names of possible partners in either region. Mullin also said Delta would make an announcement in two to four weeks on= the shape and size of a planned new low-cost airline, as well as the nam= e of the person who would lead it. Star Alliance is the world's largest airline network and includes UAL Cor= p's (UAL) United Airlines, Germany's Lufthansa (LHAG) and Japan's All Nip= pon Airways (9202). OneWorld includes British Airways Plc (BAY), Iberia (IBLA) and Australia'= s Qantas Airways Ltd (QAN). = =A92002 Reuters Limited. = Roger EWROPS