Star Alliance approved the membership of Air India, clearing the way for the National carrier to become the first Indian airline to join a global airline alliance in its Chief Executive Board (CEB) Meeting held in London on June 23rd, 2014,
The integration teams at Air India, Star Alliance and its member carriers will now complete the last necessary work in order to ensure that Air India can offer all Star Alliance customer benefits from July 11th, 2014 onwards.
Commenting on the decision, Jeffrey Goh, Star Alliance COO said: “We look forward to welcoming Air India passengers to our global network and offering them our Alliance benefits. At the same time we are pleased to be providing our existing customers improved access to a region which includes the world’s fifth largest domestic aviation market”.
Welcoming the decision, Rohit Nandan, Air India Chairman and Managing Director said, “Air India worked hard to meet the exacting expectations prior to joining and today, we are elated to be inducted into the Star Alliance family. It is indeed an honour and privilege, to be the first airline from India to join the alliance. We eagerly look forward to extending the benefits and privileges of Star Alliance to passengers from July 11th, 2014.”
Air India will add a total of 400 daily flights and 35 new destinations in India to the Alliance network. Currently the home market is served by 13 Star Alliance members flying to 10 destinations and holding a 13% market share. With Air India becoming a part of Star Alliance, the market share of Star Alliance in India will increase to 30% apart from adding more airports to its worldwide network. Passengers will further benefit from a wider choice on routes connecting North America, Europe, Asia and Australia via the Indian Subcontinent. Air India will be the 27th member airline of Star Alliance, as a result of which Star Alliance will be offering more than 18,500 daily flights serving 1,316 destinations in 192 countries.
Reciprocal frequent flyer benefits between Air India’s Flying Returns programme and those of the existing member carries will also become effective on July 11th, 2014.
Customers holding Star Alliance Gold status have access to more than 1,000 lounges across the global network, can check-in at specially designated counters, have an increased baggage allowance and receive priority boarding and baggage delivery. All these benefits will also be provided by Air India.
