SkyTeam announced that effective today Aeroflot officially becomes the alliance's 10th member. SkyTeam is the first global airline alliance to welcome a Russian carrier. With the addition of Aeroflot, SkyTeam will serve approximately 373 million passengers with nearly 15,000 daily departures to 728 global destinations in more than 149 countries. Aeroflot, which has seen steady growth in passenger volume and profit over the past several years, signed a memorandum of understanding with SkyTeam in May 2004. Since then, the airline has made several operational and service enhancements to meet SkyTeam's entry requirements. The Russian airline has boosted service quality for customers throughout its network, including in-flight service, and harmonized its flight system with that of SkyTeam. Aeroflot has also entered into bilateral agreements with all nine existing SkyTeam members. As part of a fleet restructuring program, Aeroflot operates 18 new medium-haul Airbuses and will receive 12 additional aircraft in 2006 and 2007. By the end of 2007, Aeroflot will complete construction of its passenger terminal at Sheremetyevo airport, greatly improving ground service for Aeroflot and SkyTeam passengers.
