Alitalia left to join SkyTeam, while KLM dallied with a potential merger with British Airways, a oneworld carrier. Finally, the European Commission began its own antitrust investigation into the relationship between KLM and Northwest. The EC investigation closed its investigation in late July 2002, but momentum for forming a true alliance had been lost. The members of would-be Wings focused on bilateral agreements with smaller carriers instead. In 2003 KLM began negotiations to merge with SkyTeam carrier Air France, which was concluded in early 2004, while Continental Airlines and Northwest began negotiating their own entry. KLM, Northwest, and Continental formally joined SkyTeam in September 2004, rendering the Wings alliance officially defunct. Possible member airlines See also oneworld Skyteam Star Alliance Qualiflyer Atlantic Excellence References Airline alliances SkyTeam Northwest Airlines