China Southern Airlines has become the first Chinese carrier to join one of the three global airline alliances in an effort to better participate in international competition.

In a ceremony at Beijing's Great Hall of the People yesterday, China Southern officially joined SkyTeam, becoming its 11th full member and part of a worldwide system with 16,400 daily flights and approximately 428 million annual passengers.

"SkyTeam is known for its unrivaled global connectivity, and as a member, we can better serve our customers, particularly as the 2008 Beijing Olympics approaches," said Liu Shaoyong, chairman of China Southern, one of the largest airlines in China, headquartered in Guangzhou and with a major hub in Beijing. It operates Terminal One of Beijing Capital International Airport.

The addition of China Southern also bolsters SkyTeam's global reach. "Our extensive intra-Asia network serves as a powerful link in SkyTeam's robust global network," said Liu.

Leo van Wijk, chairman of SkyTeam Governing Board, welcomes the Chinese member as a chance to open special "alliance lounges" in Beijing and Shanghai, as it has done in London's Heathrow Airport, and to "offer our customers unparalleled access to the markets they want to reach".

This is a "great time" for both China Southern and SkyTeam, he emphasized, as air traffic in China grows at double-digit rates, and the country has turned into one of "the world's fastest-growing markets".

Yang Yuanyuan, minister of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, applauded China Southern's membership in the global alliance as "a symbol of the Chinese airline industry going global and gaining a better sense of international competition under the background of increasingly integrated global economy". It could be a "model for the whole industry in the process of moving in line with the top standard in the world", he said.

China Southern's full membership in SkyTeam came after it signed an initial agreement in 2004 and signed the Global Airline Alliance Adherence Agreement in 2006 to make internal preparations.

On top of all SkyTeam benefits, China Southern has designated November 15 as the Alliance Day and is offering a complimentary ticket for any citizen of SkyTeam member countries born on November 15 and who flew on China Southern yesterday.

(China Daily November 16, 2007)