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Virgin Atlantic formally has joined SkyTeam, the global airline alliance, following a signing ceremony in London on March 2. The carrier becomes SkyTeam’s first member airline from the United Kingdom.
Alongside joint venture partners Delta and Air France-KLM, existing member airlines include Aeromexico, Air Europa, Czech Airlines, ITA Airways, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines and others.
"We are delighted to welcome Virgin Atlantic into SkyTeam, taking an already close relationship to new heights and elevating our customer offering with more routes to exciting destinations and access to aspirational airport lounges," said Patrick Roux, SkyTeam CEO and managing director "The U.K. is a key market for SkyTeam and with Virgin Atlantic on board, customers can look forward to more opportunities to earn and redeem miles as they fly, enjoying the iconic travel experience that makes our newest member a globally loved airline."
Flying Club members receive a number of benefits, depending on status, such as opportunities to redeem points across member airlines, priority check-in, extra baggage allowance and access to lounges.
"SkyTeam shares a customer-first ethos that mirrors our own, and our entry into the alliance today marks an important milestone in achieving our vision to become the most-loved travel company," said Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic. "We want to reward those who choose to fly with Virgin Atlantic, and our Flying Club members deserve the very best loyalty proposition."
Virgin has codeshare agreements already in place with Aeromexico and Middle East Airlines, in addition to existing codeshares with Air France-KLM and Delta, with more scheduled to become available later this year. Virgin flies to 12 U.S. destinations in partnership with Delta and Air France-KLM, including New York; Los Angeles; Tampa, Fla.; San Francisco; and Austin, Texas. The airline also operates to Caribbean destinations such as the Bahamas, Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica.