Maharajah joins Star Alliance

New Delhi: The entry of Air India into Star Alliance, the mega club of 17 airlines spearheaded by Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines, has been cleared. The muscle gained by merger with sister public airline, Indian, clinched the deal for the national carrier, with German carrier Lufthansa providing strategic support to seal it. Air India’s entry into Star Alliance has been pending a long time, leading to speculation that the national carrier might look at other options like OneWorld if an early decision proves elusive.
A formal announcement about Air India’s entry into Star Alliance is expected in December, highly-placed civil aviation ministry sources said. The agreement would come into effect early next year, enabling Air India to provide seamless connectivity to its passengers across the networks of all Star Alliance partner airlines. Customers of the national carrier can also encash their frequent flier miles on any of the Star Alliance carriers and enjoy facilities that are available to them on Air India.
The Star Alliance membership includes US Airways, Air Canada and Air New Zealand, apart from Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. The membership will provide footprint in Europe, North America and South-East Asia.
15/10/07 Nirbhay Kumar & G Ganapathy Subramaniam/Economic Times

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Categories: Air India - International Oct 2007, Foreign Oct 2007, NACL Oct 2007, New Oct 2007