After months of speculations, China Southern (CZ) have officially announced that they will be leaving SkyTeam in January 2019. It is a big loss to the alliance because the airline is undoubtedly the largest in China and has a very comprehensive network within mainland, not to mention its extremely home base in Guangzhou.
Whilst it is no secret that CZ has been flirting with several non SkyTeam airline members recently which probably has drawn the ire of the alliance. SkyTeam allegedly had not too long ago pressured the airline to reduce its’ partnerships with airlines outside the alliance. American Airlines of OneWorld has recently purchase nearly 3% of CZ and after the “I Quit” announcement today, China Southern has confirmed that it is looking at strengthening that partnership.
There is also rumour that CZ is looking at moving from just code-sharing with British Airways to developing a proper joint venture – I guess much like Qantas And Emirates.
The million dollar question now is – would the airline join OneWorld? Many have said that it would be impossible for CZ to join OneWorld because of Cathay Pacific. Yes, Cathay has some veto powers but would it want to risk internal confrontation? There is also a saying “if you can’t beat them, join them.” Sometimes cooperation yields better results than competition.
Brexit? Trump? Mahathir returning to power in Malaysia? They were all impossibles not too long ago….