After the Chief Executive Board (CEB) of Star Alliance unanimously approved the membership of Air India in a meeting held in London on June 23, another announcement has come today to put the airline's official joining date as July 11. Between now and then, the integration teams at Air India, Star Alliance and its member carriers will work on completing the integration process.
Air India's planned entry into Star was first announced in 2007, but since then, it has faced many struggles in meeting the alliance's terms and standards, resulting in the process being halted in 2011 (see story). But last year, things started moving again (see story) and it was confirmed last month that the home carrier of India was finally on track to become a Star (see story).
Jeffrey Goh, Star Alliance chief operating officer said: "We restarted the re-integration with Air India in December last year and just half a year later we are ready to confirm the official joining date."
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."
Air India will add a total of 400 daily flights and 35 new destinations in India – the world's fifth largest domestic aviation market – to the Star network. Its home market is currently being served by 13 Star Alliance members flying to 10 destinations and holding a 13 per cent market share. The Indian flag carrier is set to bring that number to 30 per cent.
In total the Star network will grow to 27 member airlines, with more than 18,500 daily flights covering 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 11.
All the benefits usually enjoyed by Star Alliance Gold cardholders will also be honoured by Air India.
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Visit staralliance.com and airindia.com
Reggie Ho
