Star Alliance

This article is about the global airline alliance. For the political party in Benin, see Star Alliance (Benin).

Star Alliance

Launch date	14 May 1997
Full members	27
Pending members	5
Destination airports	1,172
Destination countries	181
Annual passengers (M)	603.8
Annual RPK (G)	990.24
Fleet size	4,023
Headquarters	Frankfurt am Main Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
Management	Jaan Albrecht (CEO)
Alliance slogan	The Way The Earth Connects
Website	www.staralliance.com

Star Alliance is the world's first and largest airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (near Frankfurt Airport). The alliance was founded in 1997 by five of the world's leading airlines: Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines. The five-point star logo of Star Alliance represents the five original founding airlines.

The alliance experienced its greatest expansion during the first three years of the new millennium with over nine new members and member affiliate airlines joining. In May 2007, Star Alliance celebrated its 10th anniversary and was voted by Skytrax as the Best Airline Alliance at the 2007 World Airline Survey, as well as the Best Airline Alliance by Business Traveler during that year. Star Alliance has grown considerably since its beginning and consistently adds new member airlines every year. There are currently 27 member airlines in the alliance with more than 21,200 daily departures combined. These flights reach 1,172 airports in 181 countries, with an annual passenger number of 603.8 million.

The CEO of the alliance is Jaan Albrecht, who began his aviation career in 1973 as a pilot for Mexicana Airlines. In 2010, he was named the winner of the Tony Jannus Award for distinguished leadership in the field of commercial aviation.

Membership history

1997–1999: The first three years

On 14 May 1997, five airlines from three continents – United Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, Thai Airways International and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) came together to launch Star Alliance. The newly-established alliance selected Young & Rubicam Advertising to increase awareness of the new alliance, with a budget of $25 million, €18 million. The five airlines shared the traditional star logo from the beginning with the five points representing the five founding airlines. The alliance also adopted their first slogan "The Airline Network for Earth", with the goal being to have "an alliance that will take passengers to every major city on earth".

Varig joined the Star Alliance network, on 22 October 1997 making it the alliance's first "new" member and its gateway airline into South America.

In March 1999, Ansett Australia and Air New Zealand both became members of the alliance, connecting the alliance to Australia and the Pacific. Upon the joining of the two carriers, Star Alliance served 720 destinations in 110 countries with a combined fleet of 1,650 aircraft.

Toward the end of 1999, The Austrian Airlines Group decided to apply for membership in the Star Alliance network, planning to become a full member in the new millennium. Finally, in October 1999, All Nippon Airways joined the alliance and became the group's second Asian airline.

2000: New millennium and major expansion

The new millennium started off with the significant admission of The Austrian Airlines Group (Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways and Lauda Air) in March. Singapore Airlines joined the next month as a full member on 1 April giving the alliance an even stronger foothold in the Asian market. On 1 July BMI (British Midland) and Mexicana Airlines simultaneously joined Star Alliance, bringing the total membership tally up to 13. The joining of BMI made London Heathrow the only European hub with two competing alliances. During the year, Emirates considered joining Star Alliance, but would later opt not to join. The same year, now defunct BWIA West Indies Airways who had entered an alliance with United Airlines considered becoming a member. BWIA however never joined the alliance. In 2000 the alliance also opened its first three business centers in Los Angeles, Frankfurt, and Bangkok as well as announcing the completion of its fulltime Alliance Management Team (AMT) – the executive body of the partnership.

In 2001, Ansett Australia left the alliance due to bankruptcy which subsequently handed over a majority of the Australian market to Qantas, a rival Oneworld Alliance member. During this year Star Alliance also announced the appointment of their new CEO, Jaan Albrecht.

2003 saw the admission of three new airlines to the alliance. Asiana Airlines joined on 1 March, LOT Polish Airlines, the official flag carrier of Poland, joined in October, and Spanair, Spain's low cost carrier, joined on 1 May.

In 2004 Croatia Airlines, Blue1, and Adria Airways inaugurated the alliance's regional network. US Airways joined the alliance after a one-year joining process which started in June 2003 becoming the alliance's second American airline. Mexicana Airlines left Star Alliance after deciding not to renew a codeshare deal with United Airlines and later joined Oneworld.

In 2005, Star Alliance invited Lineas Aereas Azteca to join the alliance in mid-2007. Star Alliance saw the admission of TAP Portugal on 14 May, thereby adding new African destinations to Star Alliance's network. After merging with US Airways under the US Airways name, America West Airlines joined, working through US Airways original membership, but would never be considered an individual member.

In 2006 South African Airways became the first African airline to become a Star Alliance member, as well as raising the alliance's membership tally up to 18. On 7 April, at a ceremony in Zurich, Swiss International Air Lines joined the alliance^th. after being purchased by Lufthansa and not accepting their invitation to join Oneworld Alliance.

Tenth anniversary

In May 2007, Star Alliance and its members celebrated the alliance's 10^th anniversary. During the previous decade, Star Alliance had grown from a membership of five airlines to include 17 carriers around the world. Each day the Star Alliance's members have a combined daily departure of 16,000 to 855 destinations in 155 countries, serving 406 million passengers annually. As part of the celebration and to increase awareness of the alliance, Star Alliance launched a global consumer promotion. Prizes included round-the-world air tickets, the paying of related expenses, as well as monetary prizes. On the same day Star Alliance also launched the Biosphere Connections, a partnership with three international organisations – UNESCO, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Ramsar Convention On Wetlands – to promote environmental sustainability. To cap off its first decade of operation, the alliance was voted by Skytrax as the Best Airline Alliance at the 2007 World Airline Survey, as well as the Best Airline Alliance by Business Traveler.

Today, nearly 30% of global air travellers use the services of our member carriers or, looking at if from an overall industry perspective, two thirds of world-wide air travellers use one of the three airline alliances.

— Jaan Albrecht, CEO Star Alliance

Other significant events which took place included the ejection of Varig from the alliance on 31 January. In addition to this two major Chinese airlines, Air China and Shanghai Airlines joined on 12 December.

2008–2010: Expansion and 2nd decade of operations

On 1 April 2008, Turkish Airlines joined the alliance after an 18-month integration process since December 2006 and became the alliance's 20^th airline. EgyptAir, the official airline of Egypt joined on 11 July becoming the second African airline. The airline joined following its 75^th anniversary the previous year, the event which the EgyptAir used to subsequently relaunch its image and brand.

On 27 October 2009, Continental Airlines became the 25^th full member of the alliance after leaving SkyTeam on 24 October. At a joining ceremony in New York City, Jaan Albrecht, CEO of Star Alliance, said, "Bringing Continental Airlines into Star Alliance has been a truly unique experience. This is the first time an airline has moved directly from one alliance to another and I would like to thank all those involved in ensuring a smooth switch". At the time, it was rumoured that the switch was part of Continental's initial move in its plan of a United-Continental merge. Brussels Airlines (on 9 December) also become a member.

On 13 May 2010, leading Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines was admitted following a joining ceremony in São Paulo, thereby furthering the alliance's foothold in South America, which is currently considered by SkyTeam as an important market. Aegean Airlines, Greece's largest airline in terms of passengers carried, joined on 30 June. Fellow Greek airline Olympic Air originally intended to also join the alliance if their merger with Aegean Airlines was approved by the EU, but in February 2011 the merger proposal was rejected and as of the moment Olympic is no longer slated to join.

Shanghai Airlines left the alliance on 31 October 2010, due to its merger with China Eastern Airlines, a future member of Star Alliance's rival SkyTeam. On 29 September, the Chief Executive Board approved Ethiopian Airlines's application for membership, with the airline to become the 30th member. Upon admission, expected in September 2011, the airline will add to Star Alliance's network five new countries and 24 unserved destinations. As of September 2010, Star Alliance flies to 1,172 airports in 181 countries, with approximately 21,200 daily departures.

Expansion during 2011 and beyond

In late 2010, Air India further delayed its entry into Star Alliance. The airline failed to meet their latest deadline, for having the minimum standards for membership, of July 31, 2011 and as a result Air India's invitation to join the Star Alliance has been suspended. . In 2010, Colombian Avianca & Salvadorian TACA Airlines were invited into Star Alliance. During the same year, former SkyTeam affiliate member Copa Airlines is also expected to be admitted.

During the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards for 2011, Star Alliance regained the title of best airline alliance after the award was given to Oneworld the year before. Along with the award for best airline alliance, 26 different awards were also won by individual Star Alliance members.

On 6 July 2011, Shenzhen Airlines was formally accepted as future member. Joining in late 2012 the airlines will be the alliance's second member in the People's Republic of China following the departure of Shanghai Airlines in 2010.

Member airlines

SAS Scandinavian Airlines, one of the founding members of Star Alliance

TAM Airlines (TAM Linhas Aéreas), one of the latest members of Star Alliance.

Full members and their member & non-member affiliates

Member Airline	Joined	Country	Affiliates	Non-member Affiliates
Adria Airways	2004	Slovenia	–	—
Aegean Airlines	2010	Greece	–	—
Air Canada[A]	1997	Canada	Air Canada Express operated by: → Air Georgian → Central Mountain Air → EVAS Air → Jazz → Sky Regional Airlines Air Canada Jetz	—
Air China	2007	China	–	Air Macau Beijing Airlines Dalian Airlines Shandong Airlines Shenzhen Airlines[G]
Air New Zealand	1999	New Zealand	Air New Zealand Link operated by: → Air Nelson → Eagle Airways → Mount Cook Airline	—
ANA	1999	Japan	Air Japan Air Nippon ANA Wings Air Nippon Network	—
Asiana Airlines	2003	South Korea	–	Air Busan
Austrian Airlines	2000	Austria	Austrian Arrows (Tyrolean Airways) Lauda Air	—
Blue1	2004	Finland	–	—
bmi	2000	United Kingdom	bmi Regional	bmibaby
Brussels Airlines	2009	Belgium	–	Korongo Airlines
Continental Airlines[H]	2009	United States	Continental Connection operated by: → Cape Air → Colgan Air → CommutAir → Gulfstream International Airlines Continental Express operated by: → Chautauqua Airlines → ExpressJet Airlines	–
Croatia Airlines	2004	Croatia	–
EgyptAir	2008	Egypt	EgyptAir Express	Air Cairo Air Sinai Smart Aviation Company
LOT Polish Airlines	2003	Poland	EuroLOT	LOT Charters
Lufthansa[A]	1997	Germany	Lufthansa Italia Lufthansa Regional2 operated by: → Air Dolomiti[C] → Augsburg Airways → Contact Air → Eurowings[C] → Lufthansa CityLine[C]	Germanwings SunExpress[D]
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)[A]	1997	Denmark Norway Sweden	–	Widerøe Estonian Air Air Greenland
Singapore Airlines	2000	Singapore	–	SilkAir Singapore Airlines Cargo Tiger Airways Tiger Airways Australia
South African Airways	2006	South Africa	Airlink South African Express	Mango Congo Express
Spanair	2003	Spain	–
Swiss International Air Lines	2006	Switzerland	Swiss European Air Lines	Edelweiss Air Swiss Private Aviation
TAM Airlines	2010	Brazil	Pantanal Linhas Aéreas TAM Airlines (Paraguay)	TAM Cargo TAM Executive Aviation
TAP Portugal	2005	Portugal	Portugalia PGA Express	—
Thai Airways International[A]	1997	Thailand	–	Nok Air Thai Tiger Airways
Turkish Airlines	2008	Turkey	North Cyprus Airlines	Anadolu Jet SunExpress[D] B&H Airlines
United Airlines[A]	1997	United States	United Express[B]operated by: → Chautauqua Airlines → Colgan Air → GoJet Airlines → Mesa Airlines → Shuttle America → SkyWest Airlines → Trans States Airlines	—
US Airways	2004	United States	US Airways Express[B] operated by: → Air Wisconsin → Chautauqua Airlines → Colgan Air → Mesa Airlines → Piedmont Airlines[E] → PSA Airlines[E] → Republic Airlines → Trans States Airlines US Airways Shuttle	—

^A Founding member
^B Airlines operating under the Continental Connection, Continental Express, Lufthansa Regional, United Express and US Airways Express brands are not necessarily members of Star Alliance. However flights are operated on behalf of the respective member airlines, carry their designator code and are Star Alliance flights.
^C Members of Lufthansa Regional that are fully owned by Deutsche Lufthansa AG
^D Jointly owned by Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines
^E Wholly owned By US Airways Group
^G Will become a full member by the end of 2012
^H Merger into United Airlines announced on 2 May 2010. All flights to be operated under United name

Former member airlines and their member affiliates

Former member airline	Country	Joined	Exited	Affiliates
Ansett Australia[A]	Australia	1999	2001	Aeropelican Air Services Hazelton Airlines Kendell Airlines Skywest Airlines
Mexicana[B]	Mexico	2000	2004	Aerocaribe
Varig[C][D]	Brazil	1997	2007	Nordeste Rio Sul PLUNA
Shanghai Airlines[E]	China	2007	2010	China United Airlines
Air India[F]	India	Never	2011	Air India Express Air India Regional

^A Collapsed in 2001
^B Left the alliance in 2004 after deciding not to renew a codeshare alliance with United Airlines, opting instead to codeshare with American Airlines, and joined the Oneworld alliance on 10 November 2009
^C Suspended its alliance membership on 31 January 2007 due to major restructuring, being involuntarily ejected, and failing to meet minimum qualifications
^D Was a founding member of the alliance, but due to a codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines, the airline joined the alliance a few months after its birth.
^E Left the alliance in 2010 as a result of its merger with China Eastern Airlines, a SkyTeam member.
^F Had entrance barried because did not attend to the minimum requests to join the alliance.

Former member affiliate	Country	Joined	Exited	Member affiliate of
Air Canada Tango	Canada	2001	2004	Air Canada
Air Nova	Canada	1997	2001	Air Canada
Air Ontario	Canada	1997	2001	Air Canada
AeBal (operating as Spanair Link)	Spain	2003	2008	Spanair
United Shuttle[A]	United States	1997	2001	United Airlines
Zip	Canada	2002	2004	Air Canada

^A United Shuttle's operations ceased and became part of United Airlines

Future member airlines

Ethiopian Airlines will join Star Alliance in September 2011

Avianca will become a full member in mid-2012

Copa Airlines will join Star Alliance in mid-2012

TACA will join Star Alliance in mid-2012

Shenzhen Airlines is expected to join Star Alliance in late-2012

Future member airline	Country	Joining	Affiliates	Non-future member affiliates
Ethiopian Airlines[A]	Ethiopia	September 2011	–	ASKY Airlines
Avianca	Colombia	Mid-2012	AeroGal Helicol VIP Avianca Brazil (formerly OceanAir)	Tampa Cargo VarigLog
Copa Airlines	Panama	Mid-2012	Copa Airlines Colombia	—
TACA Airlines	El Salvador	Mid-2012	Aeroperlas Aviateca Isleña La Costeña Lacsa Nicaragüense de Aviación SANSA TACA Peru	Volaris
Shenzhen Airlines	China	late-2012	–	Henan Airlines Kunming Airlines

^A On 29 September 2010, Ethiopian Airlines was officially invited to join the alliance as 30th member airline.

Possible future members

At the annual board meeting on 11 December 2008 in Chicago Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht revealed that the alliance is targeting up to 50 members. New management strategies, such as regional and global leaderships are being examined in order to handle a significantly larger alliance.

Airlines having applied for membership/been invited to join

The following airlines have reportedly applied for membership or have been invited to join. However there has been no official announcement yet, indicating that the application/inivitation is pending at present.

Possible future member airline	Affiliates	Star Alliance codeshare partners	Star Alliance frequent-flyer programme partners	Notes
EVA Air	Uni Air	Air China All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Continental Airlines Shenzhen Airlines future member US Airways	All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Continental Airlines	According to Chang Yung-fa, president of EVA Air, the airline has applied to join Star Alliance in order to expand its network.
Jet Airways	Jet Airways Konnect Jet Lite	Air Canada All Nippon Airways Brussels Airlines United Airlines	All Nippon Airways Austrian Airlines BMI Brussels Airlines Lufthansa South African Airways Swiss International Air Lines Turkish Airlines United Airlines US Airways	In May 2011 Lufthansa Passage CEO Carsten Spohr announced that Star Alliance had invited Jet Airways to join the alliance as second Indian member after Air India. He said Star had extended an open arm to both airlines and Jet Airways could join the alliance any time. Spohr indicated that Jet Airways was going full steam ahead and could be ready to join in a few months.

Airlines in membership negotiations

The following airlines are reportedly in negotiations with Star Alliance. These negotiations will not necessarily lead to an invitation or application to join the alliance.

Possible future member airline	Affiliates	Star Alliance codeshare partners	Star Alliance frequent-flyer programme partners	Notes
Air Malta	–	Austrian Airlines BMI Brussels Airlines Lufthansa Swiss International Air Lines Turkish Airlines	Lufthansa Swiss International Air Lines	In an interview published on 1 June 2009 Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht confirmed membership talks between the alliance and Air Malta.
UTair Aviation	UTair Express UTair-Ukraine	–	–	On 19 May 2011 Alexei Budnik, UTair’s head of fleet management, announced that the Russian carrier was holding negotiations over entering Star Alliance.

Airlines being courted/considering membership

The following airlines are reportedly interested in joining the alliance or being courted by Star Alliance. These airlines may not decide to become a member.

Possible Future Member Airline	Affiliates	Star Alliance codeshare partners	Star Alliance frequent-flyer programme partners	Notes
Aer Lingus	Aer Lingus Regional	Spanair United Airlines	United Airlines	According to Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Müller, the airline is looking at re-joining a global airline alliance after leaving Oneworld in 2007. It has received strong interest from all global airline groupings. Though the carrier has not expressed a preference for one alliance yet, Chirstoph Müller remarked that Star Alliance or Oneworld would work best for the airline's U.S. routes. Aer Lingus also recently negotiated a major codeshare pact with Spanair.
Air Astana	–	Asiana Airlines Austrian Airlines	Partner of Miles & More: Adria Airways Austrian Airlines Brussels Airlines Croatia Airlines Lufthansa Swiss International Air Lines	In May 2011 Peter Foster, President of Air Astana, announced that the Kazakh flag carrier will join an airline alliance sooner or later, identifying Star Alliance and oneworld as options.
Air Austral	–	–	–	French media reported on 28 February 2011 that Air Austral, which just reached an agreement with Thai Airways International, could join Star Alliance within the next few years. According to information from within Air Austral the airline could join by May 2012.
Caribbean Airlines	Air Jamaica	–	–	According to Chairman of the Board of Caribbean Airlines George Nicholas III, Caribbean Airlines is pursuing a relationship with Star Alliance in an effort to support Jamaican hoteliers.
Etihad Airways	Etihad Crystal Cargo	Air New Zealand All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines BMI Brussels Airlines Turkish Airlines	All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Brussels Airlines	In early June 2011 the chief executive at Etihad, James Hogan, stated that the airline was looking into joining any of the three major alliances, saying that he feels the airline will create a great asset for any alliance.
Gulf Air	–	BMI Egypt Air Ethiopian Airlines Thai Airways International	–	Mr. Majali, President and Chief Executive has in an interwiev with the Gulf Daily News on 7 September 2010, revealed that they have been in discussions with the 3 major alliances about a possible membership.
JetBlue Airways	–	Lufthansa	–	According to David Barger, CEO of JetBlue Airways, the airline is currently considering becoming a member of a global airline alliance. Since Lufthansa owns a 19% stake in JetBlue, Star Alliance seems to be the most likely choice. JetBlue had an agreement with South African Airways during the 2010 World Cup which has been expanded into a codeshare agreement. However, JetBlue's alliance decision may be influenced by the recent interline partnership agreement signed with Oneworld's American Airlines. Both airlines did not rule out the opportunities of codesharing and JetBlue's participation in Oneworld alliance.
LAN Airlines	AIRES LAN Argentina LAN Ecuador LAN Express LAN Perú	Copa Airlines TAM Airlines	–	Star Alliance said it’s seeking to lure Lan Airlines from the Oneworld group as the Chilean carrier’s takeover of TAM threatens to eliminate Stars current single South American member. “We believe Star has a very good proposal,” Jaan Albrecht, the alliance’s chief executive officer, told reporters in Queenstown, New Zealand, today. “We feel pretty sure that we have a leading position in Latin America.” Star officials are speaking to executives of LAN and Tam, Albrecht said.
Luxair	–	Austrian Airlines LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa	All Star Alliance members	Lufthansa owns a 13% stake in the company. The airline has also adopted Lufthansa's 'Miles & More' frequent flyer program as their official loyalty program since 29 March 2009.
Pakistan International Airlines	–	Thai Airways International Turkish Airlines	–	In January 2011 PIA Pakistan International Airlines and Star Alliance member Turkish Airlines announced plans to form a joint venture on flights to Europe and North America operated by Turkish Airlines and flights within Asia operated by PIA. According to officials of the Pakistani flag carrier this joint venture may act as a first step for Pakistan International Airlines towards becoming a member of Star Alliance.
PLUNA	–	–	–	In 1994, former alliance member Varig purchased 49% of the airline prior to selling their shares back to the Uruguayan government in 2007. On 26 April 2010 Jazz Air, a division of Air Canada, agreed to invest US$15 million in Pluna. As a result it received a 33% non-voting interest in the Latin American Regional Aviation Holding Corporation (LARAH), which in turn owns 75% of the airline. The Uruguayan government owns the remaining shares.
Qatar Airways	–	All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines BMI Lufthansa United Airlines	All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines BMI Lufthansa United Airlines US Airways	On 24 July 2009 Qatar Airways' CEO Akbar Al Baker revealed that the airline is interested in joining an airline alliance. Al Baker said that he was most interested in joining Star Alliance but he stressed that such a move has to be win-win situation for all parties involved.
Transaero Airlines	–	Austrian Airlines BMI Singapore Airlines EgyptAir	BMI	Transaero DG Olga Pleshakova stated that Transaero is "discussing increasing its cooperation with Star Alliance," and is considering full membership, although joining is not currently top priority.
Virgin Atlantic	–	Air New Zealand All Nippon Airways BMI Continental Airlines Singapore Airlines South African Airways US Airways	Air China Air New Zealand All Nippon Airways BMI Continental Airlines SAS Scandinavian Airlines Singapore Airlines South African Airways US Airways	Virgin's involvement with Lufthansa's talks on BMI's future may lead to a possible merger on parts of the airlines' operations – this may well lead to Virgin's entrance into the Star Alliance to counter its major rival, Oneworld alliance's strong presence on the very lucrative LHR-JFK route. In fact Virgin already has partnership agreements with 9 of the Star Alliance members, while having none with Oneworld and SkyTeam members. Singapore Airlines currently has a 49% stake in shareholding on Virgin Atlantic.
Virgin Australia	V Australia Pacific Blue Polynesian Blue	Air New Zealand Singapore Airlines	Air New Zealand Singapore Airlines	Virgin Australia may ink a partnership with Star Alliance as part of the carrier's push towards what is internally called "the new Blue". Company CEO John Borghetti is attending this week's meeting of Star Alliance airline executives in Queenstown, New Zealand, ostensibly as a guest of Air New Zealand as the two carriers count down towards this week's decision by the ACCC on their proposed trans-Tasman partnership. "There's a chance for Virgin Australia to look at everything," Borghetti says. "We've got a lot on at the moment and we're evaluating everything, and I mean everything, and certainly as we go forward we'll see where that leads.”

Customer service

Codeshare flights between these airlines are, for the most part, seamless. This tight cooperation led to suspicions of anti-competitive behaviour, and the alliance was investigated by the European Union as a virtual merger of its members. Indeed, some speculated that if government regulations were relaxed, the members would merge into a single corporation, although no evidence has yet materialized. Prior to Star Alliance, Northwest Airlines and KLM were operating together as the forerunners of the modern airline alliance system since 1993, although there had been even earlier pairings and groupings of airlines for decades on a less formal level. The creation of Star Alliance was a milestone in airline history because of its size. It sparked the formation of rivals, notably SkyTeam and Oneworld.

The alliance developed the "Regional" concept in 2004, which helped Star Alliance penetrate individual markets with the regional participation of smaller carriers. Regional Star Alliance members had to be sponsored by an existing full Star Alliance member. However, Star Alliance has stopped designating airlines as "Regional" members and now refers to all the 28 airlines as just "members".

Star Alliance members now fly over 21,200 daily flights to 1,172 airports in 181 countries with a fleet of 4,025 aircraft. Its members carried a total of 627.52 million passengers with a turnover of US$156.8 billion, €145 billion. The alliance's market share is 28% of the global market based on revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), which is greater than the combined market share of all airlines that are not in any of the three major alliances. All Star Alliance carriers combined employ over 405,000 pilots, flight attendants, and other staff. Star Alliance was voted best airline alliance in the Skytrax 2007 World Airline Awards.

Co-location (move under one roof)

Star Alliance members Scandinavian Airlines, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines (with Star Alliance livery), and Air China (in the field) using Terminal 3-E of Beijing Capital International Airport as part of the Move Under One Roof program to co-locate alliance members.

City	Airport	IATA	Terminal	Exceptions	Notes
Atlanta	Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport	ATL	Terminal North		On the air side United Airlines uses Concourse T; Air Canada, Continental Airlines, and US Airways use Concourse D; and Lufthansa uses Concourse E. It has not been confirmed where United and Continental will be located on airside when their merger is completed.
Barcelona	Barcelona International Airport	BCN	Terminal 1		eff. 2009
Beijing	Beijing Capital International Airport	PEK	Terminal 3		eff. 26 March 2008
Cairo	Cairo International Airport	CAI	Terminal 3		eff. August 2009
Cleveland	Cleveland Hopkins International Airport	CLE	Concourse C	US Airways in Concourse A
Dallas/Fort Worth	Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport	DFW	Terminal D & E
Delhi	Indira Gandhi International Airport	DEL	Terminal 3		eff. 28 July 2010
Denver	Denver International Airport	DEN	Concourse B	Lufthansa and Air Canada in Concourse A
Detroit	Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport	DTW	North Terminal		eff. 24 September 2009
Dubai	Dubai International Airport	DXB	Terminal 1
Edmonton	Edmonton International Airport	YEG	South Terminal
Hamburg	Hamburg Airport	HAM	Terminal 2
London	London Heathrow Airport	LHR	Terminal 1 Terminal 3	Continental Airlines in Terminal 4	Star Alliance members Air New Zealand and United Airlines moved into Terminal 1 on 10 June 2008. Members Austrian Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, and TAP Portugal moved to Terminal 1 in June 2009. TAM Airlines moved on 28 March 2010. Asiana, BMI, LOT Polish Airlines, South African Airways and US Airways already operate from Terminal 1. All other members will remain at T3 (except Continental Airlines which will remain in T4) until the new Terminal 2A is completed, where all members will then move.
Mexico City	Mexico City International Airport	MEX	Terminal 1		Since the remodeling of Terminal 1, all Star Alliance carriers were re-located to the Hall F2 of the terminal's International Building, primarily operating into the 'F' gates. (F20-F28)
Miami	Miami International Airport	MIA	Concourse J
Munich	Munich Airport	MUC	Terminal 2		eff. June 2003
Paris	Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport	CDG	Terminal 1	Air Canada in Terminal 2 Austrian Airlines in Terminal 2
Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport	GIG	Terminal 2	Continental Airlines in Terminal 1
San Diego	San Diego International Airport	SAN	Terminal 2	United Airlines in Terminal 1
San Francisco	San Francisco International Airport	SFO	Terminal 1 - US Airways Terminal 3 - United Airlines International Terminal	Air Canada and Asiana Airlines use boarding area A of the International Terminal unlike all other Star Alliance carriers which use boarding area G
Shanghai	Shanghai Pudong International Airport	PVG	Terminal 2		eff. 26 March 2008
Seoul	Incheon International Airport	ICN	Concourse A (West Wing)		eff. June 2008
Tokyo	Haneda Airport	HND	International Terminal		eff. 31 October 2011
Tokyo	Narita International Airport	NRT	Terminal 1 - South Wing	Air New Zealand	eff. June 2006
Toronto	Toronto Pearson International Airport	YYZ	Terminal 1		eff. February 2007
Warsaw	Frederic Chopin Airport	WAW	Terminal 2		eff. March 2008

Premium status

Star Alliance has two premium levels, Silver and Gold, based on a customer's tier status in a member carrier's frequent flyer program. Each of the member and regional airlines recognizes Star Silver/Gold status, with a few exceptions (mainly pertaining to airport lounge access). The statuses have no specific requirements of their own; membership is based solely on the frequent flyer programs of individual member airlines. Many member airlines also have an additional premium status beyond Gold which is not recognised across Star Alliance.

Star Alliance Silver

Star Alliance Silver status is awarded to customers who have reached a premium level of a member carrier's frequent flyer program.

Benefits of Star Alliance Silver membership:

• Priority reservations waitlisting
• Priority airport stand-by

Some airlines also offer the following to Silver members:

• Priority boarding
• Priority airport check-in
• Priority baggage handling
• Preferred seating
• Additional checked luggage allowance
• Waived fees for 1st and 2nd checked bags
• Airport lounge access

Star Alliance Gold

Star Gold logo

Star Gold logo

Star Alliance Gold status is awarded to customers who have reached a high level of a member airline's frequent flyer program.

Benefits of Star Alliance Gold membership:

• Priority reservations waitlisting
• Priority airport stand-by
• Priority boarding
• Priority airport check-in
• Priority baggage handling
• Additional checked luggage allowance of 20 kg (or one extra piece where the piece concept applies)
• Airport lounge access to designated Star Alliance Gold lounges and the No.1 Traveller lounge in London's Gatwick Airport's South Terminal on the day and at the place of departure, on presentation of a valid Star Alliance boarding pass.

Some airlines also offer the following to Gold members:

• Preferred seating (exit seat, or even on a special section on the plane on some carriers, which provides more leg room)
• Guaranteed seating on fully booked flights (subject to the booking class code and notice period)
• Free upgrade (in the form of voucher/certificate or automatic upgrade upon check-in)
• Continental, United, and US Airways restrict lounge access to long-haul international passengers

Qualifying tiers by airline

Member Airline	Mileage Program	Star Silver (Qualifying Tiers)	Star Gold (Qualifying Tiers)
Adria Austrian Airlines Brussels Airlines Croatia Airlines LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa SWISS	Miles & More	Frequent Traveller	Senator HON Circle
Aegean Airlines	Miles & Bonus	Blue	Gold
Air Canada	Aeroplan	Prestige	Elite Super Elite
Air China	Phoenix Miles	Silver	Gold Platinum
Air New Zealand	Airpoints	Silver	Gold Gold Elite
All Nippon Airways	Mileage Club	Bronze	Super Flyers Diamond Platinum
Asiana Airlines	Asiana Club	Gold	Diamond Diamond Plus Platinum
Avianca (Future) Taca Airlines (Future)	LifeMiles	TBA	TBA
BMI	Diamond Club	Silver	Gold
Blue1 SAS	EuroBonus	Silver	Gold Pandion
Continental Airlines Copa Airlines (future) Copa Airlines Colombia (future)	OnePass	Silver	Gold Platinum
EgyptAir	EgyptAir Plus	Silver	Gold Platinum
Ethiopian Airlines (Future)	Sheba Miles	TBA	TBA
Shenzhen Airlines (Future)	KingClub	TBA	TBA
Singapore Airlines	KrisFlyer	Elite Silver	Elite Gold PPS Club Solitaire PPS Club
South African Airways	Voyager	Silver	Gold Platinum
Spanair	Spanair Star	Silver	Gold
TAM Airlines	Fidelidade	Blue	Red,Black
TAP	Victoria	Silver Winner	Gold Winner
Thai Airways International	Royal Orchid Plus	Silver	Gold
Turkish Airlines	Miles and Smiles	Classic Plus	Elite Elite Plus
United Airlines	Mileage Plus	Premier Associate Premier	Premier Executive 1K Global Services
US Airways	Dividend Miles	Silver Preferred	Gold Preferred Platinum Preferred Chairman's Preferred

The lowest qualification criteria for a Star Alliance Silver status is 4,000 status miles earned during a 12 month period, on Aegean Airlines.

The lowest qualification criteria for a Star Alliance Gold status is 20,000 status miles earned during a 24 month period. (4,000 miles in the first 12 month period and an additional 16,000 miles in a 12 month period after achieving "Blue" status) on Aegean Airlines.

Another carrier offering a similar level for Star Alliance Gold status qualification is Turkish Airlines. Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles Classic Plus cardholders who earn 40,000 status miles within 12 consecutive months are eligible to become Elite members, thereby earning Star Alliance Gold status. [2] Turkish Airlines Elite status is valid for two years. Miles and Smiles members who are residents of Turkey can renew their Elite level membership by earning 30,000 qualifying miles within one year of earning elite status or 45,000 miles within two years of earning elite status. Miles and Smiles members residing outside of Turkey are eligible for elite status renewal if they accrue 25,000 miles within one year of gaining elite status or 37,500 within two years – the lowest re-qualification criteria for a Star Alliance Gold status.

Effective 1 October 2008, accumulating 40,000 miles over two calendar years in Asiana Airlines Club Programme will gain Gold status, with a renewal requirement of 40,000 miles in two calendar years.

Livery and logo

Some Star Alliance members paint some of their planes with the Star Alliance livery, usually featuring a white fuselage with "Star Alliance" signature written across and a black tailfin with the Star Alliance logo. Singapore Airlines is the only exception, having opted to paint the tails of the aircraft with the airline's logo. Asiana Airlines was the first Star Alliance member to paint their aircraft in the current Star Alliance livery. Aircraft painted in the airlines' own livery have the Star Alliance logo painted behind the cockpit. The Star Alliance logo has a diameter of approximately 70 cm (28 in).

Currently, 84 aircraft are painted in Star Alliance livery.

Aircraft in Star Alliance livery

Country	Airline	Aircraft	Registration	Completed
Slovenia	Adria Airways	Bombardier CRJ200LR	S5-AAG	April 2005
Greece	Aegean Airlines	Airbus A320	SX-DVQ	June 2010
Canada	Air Canada	Airbus A330-300 Boeing 767-300ER	C-GHLM C-FMWY	December 2007 January 2004
Canada	Air Canada Jazz	Bombardier CRJ200ER Bombardier CRJ705ER	C-GQJA/171 C-FUJZ/710	November 2004 September 2005
China	Air China	Airbus A330-200 Airbus A330-200	B-6091 B-6093	October 2007 January 2008
New Zealand	Air New Zealand	Airbus A320	ZK-OJH	September 2004
Japan	All Nippon Airways	Boeing 737–800 Boeing 767-300ER Boeing 777–200 Boeing 777–200 Boeing 777-300ER	JA51AN JA614A JA711A JA712A JA731A	June 2008 May 2005 June 2004 November 2004 November 2004
South Korea	Asiana Airlines	Airbus A321 Boeing 767–300	HL7730 HL7516	April 2010 May 2007
Austria	Austrian Airlines	Boeing 737–800	OE-LNT	March 2010
Austria	Austrian Arrows	Fokker 100	OE-LVG	February 2011
Finland	Blue1	Boeing 717-200 Boeing 717–200	OH-BLP OH-BLN	December 2010 March 2011
United Kingdom	BMI	Airbus A320	G-MIDX	March 2000 (Consignia flags, reliveried November 2010)
United Kingdom	BMI Regional	Embraer ERJ-145	G-RJXI	July 2001
Belgium	Brussels Airlines	Airbus A319	OO-SSC	April 2010
United States	Continental Airlines	Boeing 737–700	N13720	March 2010
Croatia	Croatia Airlines	Airbus A319	9A-CTI	March 2010
Egypt	EgyptAir	Airbus A330-200 Boeing 737–800 Boeing 777-200ER	SU-GCK SU-GCS SU-GBR	May 2008 August 2008 June 2008
Poland	LOT Polish Airlines	Boeing 737–500 Boeing 767-300ER Embraer ERJ-170-100LR	SP-LKE SP-LPE SP-LDK	October 2003 July 2005 May 2005
Germany	Lufthansa	Airbus A340-300	D-AIGC	December 2003
Germany	Lufthansa Regional	For Lufthansa CityLine: 3 Bombardier CRJ701ER For Contact Air: 5 Fokker 100	D-ACPS D-ACPQ D-ACPT D-AGPH D-AGPK D-AFKA D-AFKB D-AFKF	May 2003 September 2003 October 2003 April 2008 April 2008 September 2008 April 2009 August 2009
Denmark Norway Sweden	SAS Scandinavian Airlines	Airbus A330-300 Boeing 737–800 McDonnell Douglas MD-81 McDonnell Douglas MD-82	SE-REF LN-RRL OY-KHP OY-KHE	February 2004 May 2005 January 2005 August 2004
Singapore	Singapore Airlines	Boeing 747-400 Boeing 777-200ER	9V-SPP 9V-SRI	August 2004 February 2011
South Africa	South African Airways	Airbus A340-600 Boeing 737–800	ZS-SNC ZS-SJV	February 2006 May 2006
Spain	Spanair	Airbus A320 Airbus A320 Airbus A320 McDonnell Douglas MD-87 McDonnell Douglas MD-87 McDonnell Douglas MD-87 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 McDonnell Douglas MD-83	EC-ILH EC-INM EC-IOH EC-KCZ EC-KHA EC-KJE EC-GQG EC-GXU EC-GVO	February 2003 April 2003 May 2003 April 2007 July 2007 August 2007 March 2007 September 2007 June 2008
Switzerland	Swiss International Air Lines	Avro RJ100 Avro RJ100	HB-IYV HB-IYU	March 2006 April 2006
Brazil	TAM Airlines	Airbus A320 Airbus A330-200	PR-MBO PT-MVM	May 2010 June 2010
Portugal	TAP Portugal	Airbus A320 Airbus A330-200	CS-TNP CS-TOH	June 2006 June 2007
Thailand	Thai Airways International	Airbus A330-300 Boeing 747–400	HS-TEL HS-TGW	November 2009 October 2010
Turkey	Turkish Airlines	Airbus A321 Airbus A340-300 Boeing 737–800 Boeing 737–800	TC-JRB TC-JDL TC-JFH TC-JFI	March 2011 April 2008 March 2009 July 2009
United States	United Airlines	Boeing 747–400 Boeing 757–200 Boeing 767-300ER Boeing 767-400ER Boeing 777-200ER Boeing 777-200ER Boeing 777-200ER Boeing 737–800 Boeing 777-200ER	N121UA N14120 N653UA N76055 N218UA N76021 N77022 N26210 N78017	March 2009 February 2011 January 2004 December 2010 November 2004 May 2011 May 2011 May 2011 June 2011
United States	US Airways	Airbus A319 Boeing 757–200 Boeing 757–200	N700UW N935UW N936UW	September 2004 March 2006 March 2007
United States	US Airways Express	Embraer ERJ-170 Embraer ERJ-170	N828MD N829MD	September 2005 September 2005

Photo gallery

• 
  Adria Airways (2009)
• 
  Air Canada Airbus A330-300 at Vancouver International Airport (2008)
• 
  Air China A330-200 at Vancouver International Airport (2008)
• 
  Air New Zealand Airbus A320 at Melbourne Airport (2008)
• 
  All Nippon Airways at Kansai International Airport (2006)
• 
  Austrian Airlines Boeing 767-300 at Beijing Capital International Airport (2009)
• 
  Continental Airlines Boeing 777-200 at Beijing Capital International Airport (2010)
• 
  Croatia Airlines Airbus A320 at Dubrovnik Airport (2008)
• 
  EgyptAir Airbus A330 at Paris Charles de Gaulle (2008)
• 
  LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767-300ER at Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (2007)
• 
  Lufthansa Airbus A340 departing Zürich Airport (2004)
• Lufthansa Regional (CityLine) CRJ700 at Klagenfurt Airport (2008)
  Lufthansa Regional (CityLine) CRJ700 at Klagenfurt Airport (2008)
• 
  SAS MD-82 taking off from London Heathrow Airport (2008)
• 
  Shanghai Airlines Boeing 767-300 at Beijing Capital International Airport (2009)
• 
  Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 at Singapore Changi Airport (2007)
• 
  South African Airways at London Heathrow International Airport (2006)
• 
  Spanair MD82 in full Star Alliance colours prior to its ill-fated JK5022 flight
• 
  Swiss Avro RJ100 landing at Zürich Airport (2005)
• 
  Thai Airways International Boeing 747-400 (2006)
• 
  Turkish Airlines Airbus A340-300 at Beijing Capital International Airport (2010)
• 
  United Airlines Boeing 777-200 at San Francisco International Airport (2008)
• 
  United Airlines Boeing 747-400 at San Francisco International Airport (2009)
• 
  United Airlines Boeing 767-300 at Zürich Airport (2009)

External links

• Star Alliance Official site
• Star Alliance on X
• Photos of aircraft in Star Alliance livery