Northwest and KLM, which had begun cooperating with Continental in 1998, did not immediately reorganize their tripartite relationship into a third, competing alliance; however, industry analysts widely expected the move would come in 1999.
Indeed, in the spring of that year, leaders of the labor unions representing the airlines' pilots met to coordinate negotiations.
As part of their partnership, Northwest had taken a stake in Continental, raising the hackles of antitrust regulators in the United States Department of Justice.
Alitalia left to join SkyTeam, while KLM dallied with a potential merger with British Airways, a oneworld carrier.
KLM, Northwest, and Continental formally joined SkyTeam in September 2004, rendering the Wings alliance officially defunct.