SkyTeam to welcome Middle East Airlines as future member
19-Jan-2011 Middle East Airlines – Air Liban (MEA), the national carrier of Lebanon, will sign an agreement on February 28 to officially start the process of joining SkyTeam in 2012. Customers will benefit from increased access to and from the Middle East and Western Africa.
Welcoming MEA to become a full member is a significant step towards enhancing the global network of the alliance. SkyTeam is actively working to strengthen its presence in the Middle East, one of the world's most important economic regions. MEA will be a valuable addition to the alliance by offering customers increased access to the Middle East and Western Africa.
MEA has continued to improve its products and services to customers ever since it successfully concluded a thorough restructuring plan, destined to modernize and restructure the airline. Key elements of this plan included fleet renewal and rationalization, increasing the density of its European, Middle East and West African network and improving product quality and consistency.
SkyTeam has made significant progress in attracting new members. In 2010 China Eastern and its daughter company Shanghai Airlines, China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Aerolíneas Argentinas all confirmed their future membership in SkyTeam. In January 2011 Saudi Arabian Airlines was the first member from the Middle East to announce its membership. Adding MEA as the second member from this region complements the network offer to SkyTeam customers and illustrates the continuing global expansion that SkyTeam accelerated last year.