Star Alliance, oneworld, SkyTeam: the three alliances compared

At the fence in Frankfurt, a United Boeing 777 rolls past, shortly afterward a Singapore Airlines A350, then an Air Canada aircraft – three airlines, three continents, and all belong to the same alliance. If you can tell Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam apart, you understand more quickly why certain airlines dominate at an airport and others show up only as guests. This comparison shows you the history, members and hubs of the three big alliances, explains codeshares and alliance liveries – and how to turn it into a collecting project for your logbook.

The short answer

All three alliances are cooperations of independent airlines. The members coordinate connecting itineraries, mutually recognize frequent flyer status and open their lounges to each other. Fleets, airline codes and liveries remain the business of each individual airline. The most important difference lies in the members and thus in the hubs:

• Star Alliance – the oldest and largest, centered on Lufthansa, United, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines. Clearly dominant in Germany.
• oneworld – the smallest by number of members, but with heavyweights like British Airways, American Airlines, Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific.
• SkyTeam – the youngest, with Air France, KLM, Delta and Korean Air as its pillars and a focus on Paris and Amsterdam.

The three alliances head to head

The member counts refer to October 2026. They change again and again through joinings, exits and mergers – treat them as a snapshot.

Feature	Star Alliance	oneworld	SkyTeam
Founded	May 14, 1997	announced 1998, launched February 1, 1999	June 22, 2000
Founding members	Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways, United	American, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas	Aeroméxico, Air France, Delta, Korean Air
Full members (as of Oct. 2026)	26, after Asiana’s exit at the end of 2026 down to 25	15, Philippine Airlines announced	18
Headquarters	Frankfurt am Main	Fort Worth (USA)	Amstelveen near Amsterdam
Status tiers	Silver, Gold	Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald	Elite, Elite Plus
Key hubs in Europe	Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Istanbul	London Heathrow, Madrid, Helsinki	Paris CDG, Amsterdam, Copenhagen
German members	Lufthansa	none (airberlin until 2017)	none

For you at the fence, this means: at the big German airports you see a disproportionate amount of Star Alliance. For oneworld, a side trip to London Heathrow or Madrid is worthwhile, for SkyTeam one to Amsterdam Schiphol or Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Star Alliance: the home game for German spotters

Star Alliance was founded in 1997 by Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways and United Airlines and is headquartered in Frankfurt. The reason you constantly have alliance airlines in your viewfinder here is the Lufthansa Group: Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and, since spring 2026, ITA Airways all belong to it. Add long-haul guests like United Airlines, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines, plus European members such as LOT, TAP Air Portugal, Aegean and Croatia Airlines.

You should know two changes of recent years: founding member SAS left the alliance in 2024 for SkyTeam. Asiana Airlines leaves with its integration into Korean Air at the end of 2026. Older lists and books are therefore often already out of date.

At Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport, on a good day you can get a double-digit number of Star Alliance members together. Good starting points are the Zeppelinheim viewing platform and the Munich Airport visitors’ hill (Besucherhügel). Zurich and Vienna, as hubs of SWISS and Austrian, are also pure Star Alliance home games.

oneworld: the small alliance with the big names

oneworld was announced in London in 1998 and began operations on February 1, 1999. Founding members were American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. Today it has 15 full members, including British Airways, American Airlines, Qatar Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas and Cathay Pacific. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines are listed together on the alliance’s website. Philippine Airlines announced in June 2026 that it will join, with entry planned for 2027.

There has been no German airline in oneworld since the end of airberlin in 2017. For spotters in Germany that means: oneworld comes as a guest. Especially striking are the long-haul flights of Qatar Airways and American, plus British Airways, Iberia and Finnair on short- and medium-haul routes. Many of these airlines belong to the International Airlines Group, which besides British Airways and Iberia also includes the non-members Vueling and Aer Lingus – a good example that group and alliance are not the same thing.

The heart of oneworld in Europe beats at Heathrow. Myrtle Avenue is the classic for landings every minute, many of them in British Airways design.

SkyTeam: Paris, Amsterdam and now Scandinavia too

SkyTeam was founded in New York on June 22, 2000, by Aeroméxico, Air France, Delta and Korean Air. The headquarters is in the Amsterdam area. The 18 full members include Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, SAS, Air Europa, TAROM, Saudia, Kenya Airways and several Asian airlines such as China Airlines, China Eastern and Vietnam Airlines.

The most recent period in particular has been eventful: Virgin Atlantic joined in 2023, SAS on September 1, 2024. ITA Airways left the alliance in 2025 after the Lufthansa Group came in. Aeroflot’s membership has been suspended since 2022.

The core is formed by Air France-KLM with the hubs Paris and Amsterdam. In Germany you mainly see the feeders to Paris and Amsterdam, often with Embraer jets of KLM Cityhopper or Airbus A220s of Air France. If you want to experience SkyTeam in full breadth, head to the Polderbaan in Schiphol or to Copenhagen Airport, where SkyTeam has also shaped the picture since SAS switched.

Who is in no alliance

Many airlines you see every day belong to none of the three alliances. This applies mainly to low-cost and leisure airlines, but also to some big network airlines:

• Low-cost: Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Eurowings – although Eurowings belongs to the Lufthansa Group.
• Leisure airlines: Condor, TUIfly, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss.
• Gulf airlines: Emirates and Etihad operate without an alliance, while Qatar Airways is in oneworld.

A second look is especially worthwhile with groups: a group can have alliance members and non-members under one roof. Alliance membership attaches to the individual airline, not to the group.

Codeshare: why the departures board lies

A central tool of the alliances is the codeshare: a flight is sold under several flight numbers but operated by only one airline. On the departures board in Frankfurt you then see, say, an LH, a UA and an AC number listed one below the other – yet only one aircraft stands at the gate.

For your sighting this is crucial. What counts is not the flight number but who operates the aircraft. Three features tell you:

• Callsign: On the radio and in the ADS-B signal, the operator checks in with its ICAO code, such as DLH for Lufthansa, BAW for British Airways or AFR for Air France. The difference between callsign and flight number is explained in the article Callsign vs. flight number.
• Registration: The registration on the fuselage identifies the individual aircraft unambiguously. More on this in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.
• Livery: Mostly unambiguous – except for special alliance liveries, where the airline name is much smaller.

Airline	Alliance	IATA	ICAO / callsign prefix
Lufthansa	Star Alliance	LH	DLH
SWISS	Star Alliance	LX	SWR
United Airlines	Star Alliance	UA	UAL
British Airways	oneworld	BA	BAW
Qatar Airways	oneworld	QR	QTR
Finnair	oneworld	AY	FIN
Air France	SkyTeam	AF	AFR
KLM	SkyTeam	KL	KLM
Delta Air Lines	SkyTeam	DL	DAL

How two-letter IATA and three-letter ICAO codes relate is shown in the post IATA and ICAO codes explained.

Alliance liveries: the real trophies

All three alliances have a special design of their own in which member airlines paint individual aircraft. Because usually only a handful of aircraft per airline fly this way, these designs are among the most sought-after subjects of all.

• SkyTeam: metallic silver fuselage, dark blue tail, alliance logo on the fuselage. The design has existed since 2009, and Delta was the first airline to paint an aircraft in it.
• oneworld: introduced in February 2009 for the tenth anniversary, with an alliance title almost two meters high and a logo on the fuselage. One example is a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER.
• Star Alliance: in use since 2002, mostly a white fuselage with a large “Star Alliance” title and a black tail with the alliance logo. Many members have painted individual aircraft this way, formerly including Lufthansa, for example an Airbus A340.

Which registrations currently wear the alliance design changes with repaints and retirements. So check the list again before every targeted outing – tips for that come from the guide Finding special liveries.

Which alliance suits your collecting project?

How to use alliance knowledge when spotting

How to document your sightings cleanly in the long run is shown in the post Documenting your sightings.

Conclusion

Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam are not corporations but networks of independent airlines. For spotters in Germany, Star Alliance is the home game, while oneworld and SkyTeam mainly bring guests and are worth a side trip to London, Amsterdam or Paris. If you note callsigns and registrations instead of codeshare numbers and keep the member lists up to date, each alliance gives you a manageable collecting project – with the special liveries as the crowning touch.