Xiamen Airlines
On 29 May 2012, Saudi Arabian Airlines became both the first carrier in joining the alliance in 2012 and the first one based in the Middle East, which brought the total members to 16. The same day of its incorporation, Saudi Arabian Airlines was renamed to Saudia. Middle East Airlines became the 17th member of the alliance a month later, following its incorporation on 28 June 2012. On 29 August 2012, Aerolíneas Argentinas became the first South American and the second Latin American airline in joining the alliance, bringing the number of members to 18. Following its incorporation on 21 November 2012, Xiamen Airlines became the fourth member in Mainland China, with the overall number of members in the alliance rising to 19. In late , the Russian newspaper "Kommersant" published an article that mentions that Aeroflot was considering leaving the alliance over disagreements with Delta on the pricing on some routes to North America. The report also mentioned that the Russian carrier was considering joining Star Alliance. In order to assess the benefits of the SkyTeam membership, a study was carried out in ; following it, the Aeroflot board reaffirmed its position within the alliance in .