Added: 06/20/2005 |
Star Alliance ? The Constellation in the SkyEvery air traveler at least once has heard about different reward programs, which are launched by airlines to attract more customers to its services. The rules of such programs are quite simple - the more you fly with your airline, the better their service is for you. But single airline cannot grant you access to the whole world due to many circumstances. You cannot fly to Helsinki with Aloha Airlines aircraft. The world is also become smaller after inventing firstly a passenger aircraft and later - a jet.
With intercontinental flights many airlines decided to make them real - and met similar airlines, which served their points of destinations. In hard competition a new idea was born - to unite several airlines all over the world into one major alliance with one schedule and one system of service performing. In 1997 this idea was put into life with creating of the Star Alliance. After its competitors appearing - SkyTeam and oneworld alliances, Star Alliance still is the largest airlines alliance in the world. Scale is not absolute sign of quality, and you'll be interested in fact that Star Alliance is also was called the best alliance of 2005 year in Airlinequality.com.
What does all this mean for you? First of all, Star Alliance members use one flight schedule to correct its actions and flights, so you can be sure that you will find a flight to your desired destination, which will be convenient for you. This also makes cooperated flights possible, when you'll be allowed to fly for example, from Ronald Reagan International Airport to Hong Kong, with changing aircrafts in London with one ticket from USA to China against booking two seats on two flight legs. Isn't it convenient?
Star Alliance has also its general Frequent Flyer reward program, so you can use your Frequent Flyer miles earned with one airline in another's one flight with certain promotions and upgrades. You can also get access to airport lounges of every Star Alliance member. And of course, such cooperation makes creating of total information platform possible, so you could always get information about all flights to your destination, organized by all Alliance members, and choose the one, which is the most comfortable for you.
Today the full members of Star Alliance are Air Canada, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Midland, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines System, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, TAP Portugal, Thai Airways International, United Airlines, US Airways and Varig. Star regional members are Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines, sponsored by Lufthansa and Blue 1, sponsored by SAS. America West Airlines, South African Airlines and Swiss also declared their joining to Star Alliance in close future. Today airlines alliances show the improved way of how air traveling service is to be made - and Star Alliance is the excellent example of such air carrier 'superdivision' and air traveling industry development in general.
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