Northwest sees SkyTeam link in summer at earliest =
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Thursday October 16, 4:10 PM EDT =
CHICAGO, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWAC) expects to jo=
in the SkyTeam alliance of airlines at the earliest next summer or fall, =
President Doug Steenland said on Thursday.
Northwest's transatlantic partner Dutch airline KLM (KLM) on Thursday sig=
ned a merger agreement with Air France that will create Europe's largest =
airline if approved.
KLM's purchase by Air France, a founding SkyTeam member with Delta Air Li=
nes (DAL), is expected to speed KLM's entrance into SkyTeam and open the =
door for Northwest and Continental Airlines (CAL) to join the alliance.
"With respect to SkyTeam, we would anticipate at the earliest we would lo=
ok to join that global alliance in the summer or fall of 2004," Steenland=
said in a quarterly earnings conference call with analysts and reporters=
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Northwest, the No. 4 U.S. air carrier, has not been asked to join SkyTeam=
, but has said it would join when invited. Northwest's long-term joint ve=
nture with KLM is expected to continue after Northwest joins.
SkyTeam is the smallest of the global airline alliances behind the Star A=
lliance led by United Airlines (UALAQ) and Lufthansa (LHAG) and oneworld =
led by American Airlines (AMR) and British Airways (BAY). SkyTeam would g=
row significantly if KLM, Northwest and Continental join. =
=A92003 Reuters Limited. =
Roger
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