Star Alliance

hmn.wiki/en/Star_Alliance

Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance.[2] Founded on 14 May 1997, its
CEO is Jeffrey Goh[4][6] and its headquarters is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
[3] As of April 2018, Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger

count with 762.27 million, ahead of both SkyTeam (630 million) and Oneworld

(528 million).[7][8] Its slogan is "The Way the Earth Connects".

Star Alliance's 26 member airlines operate a fleet of approximately 5,033 aircraft, serving
more than 1,290 airports in 195 countries on more than 19,000 daily departures. The
alliance has a two-tier rewards program, Silver and Gold, with incentives including
priority boarding and upgrades. Like other airline alliances, Star Alliance airlines share
airport terminals (known as co-locations) and many member planes are painted in the
alliance's livery.

On 14 May 1997, an agreement was announced forming Star Alliance from five airlines on
three continents: United Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air
Canada, and Lufthansa.[9][10] The alliance chose Young & Rubicam for advertising, with a
budget of $25 million (€18 million).[11] The airlines shared the star logo from the
beginning, with its five points representing the founding airlines. The alliance adopted its
first slogan, "The Airline Network for Earth",[9] with its goal "an alliance that will take
passengers to every major city on earth".[10]

The now defunct Brazilian airline VARIG joined the Star Alliance network[9][12] on 22
October 1997, extending the alliance into South America. Also joining were Ansett
Australia and Air New Zealand, expanding Star Alliance to Australia and the Pacific.[13]
With the addition of the latter two carriers, the alliance served 720 destinations in 110
countries with a combined fleet of 1,650 aircraft. The next airline to join was All Nippon
Airways (ANA), the group's second Asian airline, on 15 October 1999.[14][15]

During the early 2000s, a number of airlines joined Star Alliance; the Austrian Airlines
Group (Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways and Lauda Air) joined on 26 March 2000[16]
[17] and Singapore Airlines on 1 April.[18] BMI (British Midland) and Mexicana joined on 1

July, bringing the alliance's membership to 13.[19] With Singapore Airlines' entry into the
alliance, Thai Airways considered moving to OneWorld, but eventually decided to remain.
[20] The addition of BMI made London Heathrow the only European hub with two

alliances. During the year, Emirates considered joining Star Alliance, but decided against
it.[21] That year the now-defunct BWIA West Indies Airways, which had entered an
alliance with United Airlines, considered becoming a member but did not.[22] In 2000,
the alliance also opened its first three business centers (in Los Angeles, Frankfurt, and
Bangkok) and announced the formation of an Alliance Management Team (AMT), the
partnership's executive body.[23] In September 2001, Ansett Australia (the alliance's only
Australian member) left Star Alliance due to bankruptcy, giving most of the Australian
market to Qantas (a Oneworld member). That year, Star Alliance announced the
appointment of a new CEO, Jaan Albrecht.[23]

Partner airlines promoted Star Alliance brand with a ‘Round the World’ ticket (RWT) that
offered choice of 19,000, 21,000, and 23,000 miles with stopover of 15 cities valid for one
year. RWT was path-breaking in that travel buffs could visit destinations of their choice
by charting a year long itinerary without disrupting work commitments. Until then
tourists took annual vacationa of two or three weeks, often settling for lesser known
destinations because flights were overbooked during peak holiday season. Customer
loyalty ratings went up, driven by the underlying message - Forget about the countries
and cities. Go where RWT ticket takes you![24]

"The Star Alliance is Born" – airliners of the five

founding members (United Airlines, Scandinavian
Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air Canada and
Lufthansa) of the alliance gathered together, May 1997.

Four United Airlines planes at San Francisco

International Airport. One is painted in the Star
Alliance special livery.

Four members of Star Alliance at Tokyo Narita Airport:

Thai, United, Continental, Swiss and SAS
Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai
Airways International and United Airlines are the five
founding members of the alliance.
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Star Alliance members hubs