Delta, 3 Foreign Airlines Form New Alliance

Delta Air Lines Inc., Air France SA, Aeromexico and Korean Air Co. unveiled details of SkyTeam, their venture to compete with the global alliances that larger rivals formed as long as three years ago. The airlines, which had said previously that they would join forces, said SkyTeam will offer 6,402 daily flights to 451 cities in 98 countries. The members will be able to book passengers on one another’s flights, and customers can use frequent-flier miles on any of the carriers. The alliance starts today. SkyTeam will compete for passengers against more experienced networks, including the dominant Star Alliance led by UAL Corp.’s United Airlines and Deutsche Lufthansa, and the Oneworld alliance led by AMR Corp.’s American Airlines and British Airways. The airlines said they still have gaps in their network that need to be filled, particularly in South America and southern Asia, and that they will look for a limited number of additional partners.