Jaunted

Star Alliance:

· Shenzhen Airlines signed on to join by the end of 2012. This will open up possibilities for expanded China travel. The airline, based in its namesake city, will be a member sans its regional affiliates.
· Eva Air is set to join the alliance in 2013 bringing all those Hello Kitty planes and Taiwan flights direct to frequent flyers everywhere.
· Jet Airways is a possible future member and they've so far sought government approval to join an alliance.

Oneworld:

· Malaysia Airlines is all ready to help out flyers from Oneworld by November of this year, with a little sponsorship by Qantas.
· Sri Lankan Airlines has plans to start flying with the alliance sometime in 2013.
· Kingfisher Airlines' membership has been put on hold while they work out their financial woes. They are still eligible to enter the alliance, but it probably won't work if they can't afford to fly.
· LATAM. There's been speculation that, when this newly formed airline of the South American carriers LAN and Tam finish their paperwork, they'll go with Oneworld.

SkyTeam:

· Aerolineas Argentinas has already accepted full membership as a friend of Delta, with intentions to bring more passengers south of the Equator.
· Saudia Arabia Airlines (or just Saudia) joined the alliance earlier this year as one of the first airlines from the region to the join an alliance, followed closely by Middle East Airlines.
· Xiamen Airlines is slotted to join the tie-up in November of this year.
· Garuda Indonesia is scheduled to join SkyTeam come the first few months of 2014, so you've still got a while there.
· Air India has been looking for a hook-up with SkyTeam, but is only considered a possibility at the moment.

All of these changes just make it easier to tick off destinations from your bucket list and still accrue frequent flyer miles. If you're one of those who just need to burn some miles, the additions allow you to at least try a new airline. We support both either way. Happy travels!

[Photo: Oneworld]