At the recently concluded mid-year meeting, Juneyao Airlines mentioned advancing the “full membership alignment work for Star Alliance.”
Although this remark was later removed from the official release, the news had already spread, sparking interpretations, speculation, and predictions.
A few years ago, China Southern Airlines withdrew from SkyTeam to go independent; now, Juneyao Airlines is preparing to join Star Alliance.
Though in different alliance systems, these two Chinese carriers—one exiting and one entering—stand at a “watershed” moment in evaluating the value of alliances.
The world’s three major airline alliances—Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and oneworld—have long been seen as fast tracks for carriers to expand globally.
Interoperable frequent flyer benefits and extensive global networks have helped countless airlines improve transfer efficiency and enhance passenger experience.
This logic still holds for Juneyao Airlines, whose network is not yet fully developed.
Juneyao’s ambition to “go global” is clear. Its routes remain concentrated in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, without full coverage of long-haul destinations to North America, Australia, or the Middle East; while its main base at Shanghai Pudong is strong, its presence in other primary hubs and secondary cities is limited, constraining network reach.
To open longer connecting routes, relying solely on self-built network is clearly insufficient—alliances offer a ready-made “springboard.”
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