Star Alliance

Star Alliance

Launch date	14 May 1997
Full members	27
Non-voting members	39 affiliates, 1 pending
Destination airports	1,321[1]
Destination countries	193[1]
Annual passengers (M)	637.62[1]
Annual RPK (G)	1,331[1]
Fleet size	4,456[1]
Management	Mark Schwab, CEO[2] Calin Rovinescu
Alliance slogan	The Way The Earth Connects
Headquarters	Frankfurt am Main, Germany[3]
Website	staralliance.com

The Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany,^[3] and led by current CEO Mark Schwab.^[2] It was founded on May 14, 1997, with its name and emblem representing the five founding airlines (see the five airlines in the history section). Star Alliance has since grown considerably and its current membership includes 27 airlines which have more than 18,521 daily departures combined. These flights reach 1,321 airports in more than 193 countries, with an annual number of 637.6 million passengers.^[1]

Membership history

1997–1999: The first three years

Lufthansa is one of the founding members of the Star Alliance.

The first Star Alliance logo still in use today.

On 14 May 1997, five airlines from three continents – Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and United Airlines came together to launch Star Alliance.^[4][5] The newly established alliance selected Young & Rubicam Advertising to increase awareness of the new alliance, with a budget of $25 million, (€18 million).^[6] 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",^[4] with the goal to have "an alliance that will take passengers to every major city on earth".^[5]

VARIG joined the Star Alliance network,^[4][7] on 22 October 1997 making it the alliance's first "new" member and its gateway airline into South America.

In 3 May 1999, Ansett Australia and Air New Zealand both became members of the alliance, connecting the alliance to Australia and the Pacific.^[8] Upon the joining of the two carriers, Star Alliance served 720 destinations in 110 countries with a combined fleet of 1,650 aircraft.

All Nippon Airways joined the alliance in 15 October 1999, and became the group's second Asian airline.^[9][10]

2000: Major expansion

The new millennium started off with the significant admission of The Austrian Airlines Group (Austrian Airlines, Tyrolean Airways and Lauda Air) in 26 March.^[11][12] Singapore Airlines joined on 1 April^[13][14] giving the alliance an even stronger foothold in the Asian market. Then on 1 July BMI (British Midland) and Mexicana Airlines simultaneously joined Star Alliance, bringing the total membership tally up to 13.^[15] The joining of BMI made London Heathrow the only European hub with two competing alliances. During the year, Emirates considered joining Star Alliance, but later opted not to join.^[16] 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.^[17] In 2000 the alliance also opened its first three business centers through the course of the year in Los Angeles, Frankfurt, and Bangkok as well as announcing the completion of its full-time Alliance Management Team (AMT) – the executive body of the partnership.^[18]

In September 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.^[18]

2003 saw the admission of three new airlines to the alliance. Asiana Airlines joined on 1 March,^[19] Spanair joined on 1 May,^[20] and then, LOT Polish Airlines, the official flag carrier of Poland, joined in October.^[21]

In March 2004, Mexicana Airlines left Star Alliance after deciding not to renew a codeshare deal with United Airlines and later joined Oneworld.^[18] US Airways then joined the alliance in May,^[22] becoming the alliance's second US-based airline. Finally, in November, Adria Airways, Blue1, and Croatia Airlines joined the alliance as the first three regional members.

In 2005, Star Alliance invited Lineas Aereas Azteca to join the alliance in mid-2007, but the airline went bankrupt and never joined the alliance. Then, Star Alliance saw the admission of TAP Portugal on 14 March, thereby adding new African destinations to Star Alliance's network.^[23][24] 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 April 2006 Swiss International Air Lines joined the alliance as its 17th member and its 6th airline from Europe. SWISS' predecessor, Swissair was due to join the alliance in 2001, but the airline went bankrupt in October of that year and went through an extensive restructuring process before joining 5 years later. April also saw the admission of South African Airways, being Star Alliance's first African member. They also were the 18th member of the alliance.

Tenth anniversary

In May 2007, Star Alliance and its members celebrated the alliance's 10th anniversary. During the previous decade, Star Alliance had grown from a membership of five airlines to include 18 carriers around the world.^[25] Each day the Star Alliance's members had 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.^[26] Prizes included round-the-world air tickets, the paying of related expenses, as well as monetary prizes.^[27] 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.^[25][28]

Other significant events which took place included the ejection of VARIG from the alliance on 31 January.^[30] In addition to this, the first two major Chinese airlines to join the alliance, Air China and Shanghai Airlines, joined on 12 December.^[31]

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, becoming the seventh European airline^[32] in the alliance, which had thus reached a total of 20 members. EgyptAir, the official airline of Egypt, joined on 11 July 2008,^[33] becoming the second African airline. The airline joined following its 75th anniversary the previous year, an event which EgyptAir used to subsequently relaunch its image and brand.^[33]

On 27 October 2009, Continental Airlines became the 25th full member of the alliance after leaving SkyTeam on 24 October. At a joining ceremony in New York City, Jaan Albrecht, former 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.^[34]

On 9 December 2009, the integration of Brussels Airlines into the Star Alliance was effective.^[35]

On 13 May 2010, leading Brazilian carrier TAM Airlines was admitted following a joining ceremony in São Paulo,^[36] thereby furthering the alliance's foothold in South America, which is currently considered by SkyTeam as an important market.^[37] Aegean Airlines, Greece's largest airline in terms of passengers carried, joined on 30 June.^[38] Fellow Greek airline Olympic Air originally intended to apply to join the alliance if their merger with Aegean Airlines was approved by the EU.

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.^[39] On 29 September, the Chief Executive Board approved Ethiopian Airlines's application for membership, with the airline to become the 30th member, further strengthening Star Alliance in the African region.^[40]

As of September 2010, Star Alliance flew to 1,172 airports in 181 countries, with approximately 21,200 daily departures.^[40]

Expansion during 2011 and beyond

The new decade saw Star Alliance adding more members and losing some due to either the airline becoming collapsed or for corporate restructuring.

In August, 2011, after continued delays, Air India was finally rejected for membership after failing to meet the requirements for membership.^[41][42] Later that year, on 13 December 2011, Ethiopian Airlines joined, adding five new countries and 24 destinations to the alliance's route map.

2012 had a lot of things happening to Star Alliance, with many airlines leaving as well as many airlines joining. In the beginning of January 2012 Continental Airlines completed its merger with United Airlines, thus formally ending its existence and membership in the alliance. Shortly after this, on 27 January, longtime member Spanair left the alliance after suffering financial collapse and ceasing operations. bmi then left on 20 April after its acquisition by International Airlines Group (IAG), a parent company of Oneworld Members Iberia and British Airways. On 21 June 2012 Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines all simultaneously joined the alliance, significantly increasing the alliance's presence in Latin America.^[43] Then in November, Blue1 left the alliance, becoming an affiliate of parent Scandinavian Airlines.^[44] Finally, to end one of the most difficult years in the alliance's history, Shenzhen Airlines joined on 29 November 2012, complementing Air China's Chinese network.^[45]

On 8 March 2013 TAM Airlines officially announced its departure, long expected after its merger with LAN Airlines to become LATAM Airlines Group. Later during the year, with the addition of EVA Air on 18 June and TACA's integration into Avianca, the alliance now had 28 members, making it the largest of the three main airline alliances. On 13 December 2013, Air India was officially invited to join Star Alliance again, and the integration process recommenced once again.^[46] On 31 March 2014, TAM Airlines left Star Alliance and joined Oneworld, and US Airways left as well as an affiliate of American Airlines.^[47] On the same day that US Airways and TAM Airlines left, Avianca Brazil announced that they would join Star Alliance in 2014 as an affiliate of the Avianca brand.^[48] After TAM Airlines and US Airways left Star Alliance, the alliance had 26 airlines. On 24 June 2014, Air India had its membership approved by other members after several years of waiting, and it joined the alliance on 11 July 2014.^{[49] [50][51][52]}

Member airlines

Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines are the five founding members of the alliance.

Full members and their member affiliates

style="bgcolor="silver" width:160px;"| Member airline	style="bgcolor="silver" width:70px;" | Joined	style="bgcolor="silver" width:215px;"| Member affiliates
Adria Airways	02004-11-18-000018 November 2004	N/A
Aegean Airlines	02010-06-30-000030 June 2010	Olympic Air
Air Canada[A]	01997-05-14-000014 May 1997	Air Canada Express[B] [D] Air Canada rouge
Air China	02007-12-12-000012 December 2007	Dalian Airlines
Air India	02014-07-11-000011 July 2014 [51]	Air India Regional[B] [E]
Air New Zealand	01999-05-03-00003 May 1999	Air New Zealand Link[B] [F]
All Nippon Airways	01999-10-15-000015 October 1999	Air Japan ANA Wings
Asiana Airlines	02003-03-28-000028 March 2003
Austrian Airlines	02000-03-26-000026 March 2000	Tyrolean Airways[B]
Avianca	02012-06-21-000021 June 2012	Avianca Costa Rica Avianca Ecuador Avianca El Salvador Avianca Guatemala Avianca Honduras Avianca Nicaragua Avianca Peru
Brussels Airlines	02009-12-09-00009 December 2009	N/A
Copa Airlines	02012-06-21-000021 June 2012	Copa Airlines Colombia
Croatia Airlines	02004-11-18-000018 November 2004	Obzor Putavanja
EgyptAir	02008-07-11-000011 July 2008	EgyptAir Express Air Sinai
Ethiopian Airlines	02011-12-13-000013 December 2011	N/A
EVA Air	02013-06-18-000018 June 2013	Uni Air
LOT Polish Airlines	02003-10-26-000026 October 2003
Lufthansa[A]	01997-05-14-000014 May 1997	Lufthansa Regional[B] [C] [G] Lufthansa Cityline Air Dolomiti
Scandinavian Airlines[A]	01997-05-14-000014 May 1997	Blue1
Shenzhen Airlines	02012-11-29-000029 November 2012	N/A
Singapore Airlines	02000-04-01-00001 April 2000	Scoot
South African Airways	02006-04-10-000010 April 2006	Airlink South African Express Mango (airline)
Swiss International Air Lines	02006-04-01-00001 April 2006	Swiss European Air Lines Edelweiss Air
TAP Portugal	02005-03-14-000014 March 2005	Portugalia PGA Express
Thai Airways International[A]	01997-05-14-000014 May 1997
Turkish Airlines	02008-04-01-00001 April 2008	Anadolu Jet Sun Express
United Airlines[A]	01997-05-14-000014 May 1997	United Express[B] [H]

^A Founding member.
^B Airlines operating under the Air Canada Express, Air New Zealand Link, Lufthansa Regional, Tyrolean Airways and United 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 Air Canada Express flights are operated by ^[53][54] Air Georgian, EVAS Air, Jazz Aviation, Sky Regional Airlines
^E Air India Regional flights are operated by Alliance Air
^F Air New Zealand Link flights are operated by Air Nelson, Eagle Airways, Mount Cook Airline
^G Lufthansa Regional flights are operated by Air Dolomiti, Eurowings, Lufthansa CityLine
^H United Express flights are operated by Cape Air, Chautauqua Airlines, CommutAir, ExpressJet Airlines, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Shuttle America, Silver Airways, SkyWest Airlines

Former member airlines and their member affiliates

silver" style="bgcolor=; width:200px;"| Former member airline	silver" style="bgcolor=; width:75px;"| Joined	silver" style="bgcolor=; width:75px;"| Exited	silver" style="bgcolor=; width:220px;"| Affiliates
Ansett Australia[A]	01999-05-03-00003 May 1999	02001-09-12-000012 September 2001	Aeropelican Air Services Hazelton Airlines Kendell Airlines Skywest Airlines
Blue1[B]	02004-11-03-00003 November 2004	02012-11-01-00001 November 2012	N/A
British Midland International[C]	02000-07-01-00001 July 2000	02012-04-20-000020 April 2012	BMI regional bmi baby
Continental Airlines[D]	02009-10-27-000027 October 2009	02012-03-03-00003 March 2012	Continental Connection Continental Express Continental Micronesia
Mexicana[E]	02000-07-01-00001 July 2000	02004-03-31-000031 March 2004	Aerocaribe
Shanghai Airlines[F]	02007-12-12-000012 December 2007	02010-10-31-000031 October 2010	China United Airlines
Spanair[G]	02003-05-01-00001 May 2003	02012-01-27-000027 January 2012	Aebal
TACA Airlines[H]	02012-06-21-000021 June 2012	02013-05-27-000027 May 2013	TACA Regional operated by: Aviateca La Costeña Sansa Airlines
TAM Airlines[I]	02010-05-13-000013 May 2010	02014-03-31-000031 March 2014	TAM Airlines (Paraguay)
US Airways[J]	02004-05-04-00004 May 2004	02014-03-31-000031 March 2014	US Airways Express US Airways Shuttle
VARIG[K]	01997-10-22-000022 October 1997	02007-01-31-000031 January 2007	Nordeste Rio Sul PLUNA

^A Collapsed on 12 September 2001.
^B Left the alliance on 1 November 2012 after SAS took over mainline operations, now a member affiliate of Scandinavian Airlines.
^C Left the alliance on 20 April 2012 as a result of its merger with International Airlines Group. IAG's subsidiaries British Airways and Iberia are Oneworld members, bmi merged with British Airways on 27 October 2012.
^D Merged with United Airlines on 3 March 2012.
^E 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 Oneworld on 10 November 2009. Collapsed on August 28, 2010.
^F Left the alliance on 31 October 2010 as a result of its merger with China Eastern Airlines, a SkyTeam member.
^G Collapsed on 27 January 2012.
^H Merged with Avianca on 27 May 2013. Renamed as Avianca El Salvador.
^I Left the alliance on 31 March 2014 as a result of its merger with LAN Airlines, a Oneworld member.
^J Left the alliance on 31 March 2014 as a result of its merger with American Airlines, a Oneworld member.
^K Ceased operations on 20 July 2006.

Former member affiliates of current full members

silver" style="bgcolor=; width:250px;"|Former member affiliate	silver" style="bgcolor=; width:75px;"|Joined	silver" style="bgcolor=; width:75px;"|Exited	silver" style="bgcolor=; width:220px;"|Member affiliate of
Air Canada Tango[A]	2001	2004	Air Canada
Air Nova	1997	2001	Air Canada
Air Next	2004	2010	All Nippon Airways
Air Nippon	1999	2012	All Nippon Airways
Air Ontario	1997	2001	Air Canada
Centralwings	2004	2007	LOT Polish Airlines
Cyprus Turkish Airlines	2008	2010	Turkish Airlines
Korongo Airlines	2009	2012	Brussels Airlines
Lauda Air	2000	2013	Austrian Airlines
Lufthansa Italia	2009	2011	Lufthansa
United Shuttle[B]	1997	2001	United Airlines
Swiss Private Aviation	2007	2011	Swiss Air
Zip	2002	2004	Air Canada

^A Air Canada Tango was dissolved and now is part of Air Canada.
^B United Shuttle's operations ceased and became part of United Airlines.

Future member affiliates

style="bgcolor="silver" width:160px;"| Future member affiliate	style="bgcolor="silver" width:70px;" | Joining	style="bgcolor="silver" width:100px;" | Affiliate of
Avianca Brazil	Q1 2015[55]	Avianca

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,^[56] 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 27 airlines as just "members".^[57]

Star Alliance members now fly over 18,521 daily flights to 1,321 airports in 193 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.^[58]

Members' hubs

Member airlines	Hub airports	Focus city airports
Adria Airways	Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport	Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari
Aegean Airlines	Athens International Airport Heraklion International Airport Thessaloniki International Airport	Corfu International Airport Larnaca International Airport Kalamata International Airport Rhodes International Airport
Air Canada	Calgary International Airport Montréal-Trudeau International Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport Vancouver International Airport	Edmonton International Airport Halifax Stanfield International Airport Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Winnipeg International Airport
Air China	Beijing Capital International Airport Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport Shanghai Pudong International Airport	Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport Tianjin Binhai International Airport Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Air India	Indira Gandhi International Airport Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai) Chennai International Airport Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport	Hong Kong International Airport Changi Airport Kempegowda International Airport Trivandrum International Airport Cochin International Airport Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport
Air New Zealand	Auckland Airport Christchurch Airport Wellington International Airport	Los Angeles International Airport Sydney Airport
All Nippon Airways	Kansai International Airport Haneda Airport Narita International Airport Osaka International Airport	Chūbu Centrair International Airport New Chitose Airport
Asiana Airlines	Incheon International Airport Gimpo International Airport	Gimhae International Airport Jeju International Airport
Austrian Airlines	Vienna International Airport	Innsbruck Airport
Avianca	El Dorado International Airport El Salvador International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport	Juan Santamaría International Airport São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport José María Córdova International Airport La Aurora International Airport Augusto C. Sandino International Airport Miami International Airport
Brussels Airlines	Brussels Airport	N/A
Copa Airlines	Tocumen International Airport El Dorado International Airport	José María Córdova International Airport Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport Juan Santamaría International Airport La Aurora International Airport Augusto C. Sandino International Airport
Croatia Airlines	Zagreb Airport	Dubrovnik Airport Split Airport Zadar Airport
EgyptAir	Cairo International Airport	Borg El Arab Airport Hurghada International Airport Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport
Ethiopian Airlines	Bole International Airport	N/A
EVA Air	Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport	Kaohsiung International Airport Suvarnabhumi Airport
LOT Polish Airlines	Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport	Copernicus Airport Wrocław John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice
Lufthansa	Frankfurt Airport Munich Airport	Düsseldorf International Airport
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen Airport Oslo Airport, Gardermoen Stockholm-Arlanda Airport	Bergen Airport, Flesland Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport Stavanger Airport, Sola Trondheim Airport, Værnes Helsinki Airport
Shenzhen Airlines	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport	Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Nanjing Lukou International Airport Nanning Wuxu International Airport Shenyang Taoxian International Airport Sunan Shuofang International Airport
Singapore Airlines	Singapore Changi Airport	N/A
South African Airways	OR Tambo International Airport	Cape Town International Airport
Swiss International Air Lines	Zürich Airport	EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg Geneva International Airport
TAP Portugal	Lisbon Portela Airport Porto Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport	Madeira Airport
Thai Airways International	Suvarnabhumi Airport	Chiang Mai International Airport Incheon International Airport Phuket International Airport
Turkish Airlines	Atatürk International Airport	Adnan Menderes Airport Antalya Airport Esenboğa International Airport Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
United Airlines	Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport Denver International Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport Los Angeles International Airport Narita International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport O'Hare International Airport San Francisco International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport	Cleveland Hopkins International Airport[59]

Co-location at Airports (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
Barcelona	Barcelona–El Prat Airport	BCN	Terminal 1
Beijing	Beijing Capital International Airport	PEK	Terminal 3
Cairo	Cairo International Airport	CAI	Terminal 3
Chongqing	Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport	CKG	Terminal 2B
Delhi	Indira Gandhi International Airport	DEL	Terminal 3
Frankfurt	Frankfurt Airport	FRA	Terminal 1 "Star Alliance Terminal"
Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport	HKG	Terminal 1	South African Airways in Terminal 2 Thai Airways International in Terminal 2
London	London Heathrow Airport	LHR	Terminal 2	Air India in Terminal 4
Mexico City	Benito Juárez International Airport	MEX	Terminal 1	Copa Airlines in Terminal 2
Miami	Miami International Airport	MIA	Concourse J	United Airlines in Concourse G
Munich	Munich Airport	MUC	Terminal 2	Turkish Airlines in Terminal 1
Moscow	Domodedovo International Airport	DME	Terminal A	Turkish Airlines and some Lufthansa flights at Vnukovo International Airport Adria Airways, Air China, LOT Polish Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines at Sheremetyevo Airport
Paris	Charles de Gaulle Airport	CDG	Terminal 1	Air Canada in Terminal 2A Austrian Airlines in Terminal 2D Ethiopian Airlines in Terminal 2A Air India in Terminal 2C
Phuket	Phuket International Airport	HKT	Terminal 1	Thai Airways International partially in Terminal 2
Seoul	Incheon International Airport	ICN	Concourse A	Asiana Airlines (West side of the Main terminal)
Stockholm	Stockholm-Arlanda Airport	ARN	Terminal 5	Scandinavian Airlines partially in Terminal 4
Taipei	Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport	TPE	Terminal 2	Thai Airways International in Terminal 1
Tokyo	Narita International Airport	NRT	Terminal 1 – South Wing
Toronto	Toronto Pearson International Airport	YYZ	Terminal 1
Vienna	Vienna International Airport	VIE	Austrian Star Alliance Terminal (Check-in 3)[60]	Aegean Airlines at Check-in 1 Turkish Airlines at Check-in 1

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

Star Alliance Gold

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 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)
• United restricts US lounge access for their Gold Members to long-haul international passengers; Gold members from other carriers are welcome in US Lounges run by United on all itineraries. Unlike in Oneworld and Skyteam, United Star Gold members are admitted to the lounges of foreign alliance carriers (such as Lufthansa's Senator lounges at US airports) even if traveling domestically.

Qualifying tiers by airline

Livery and logo

An Egyptair Airbus A330 painted with Star Alliance livery

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 while the color or design of the engine cowlings or winglets remains depending on the members livery. Singapore Airlines is the only exception, formerly opting to paint the tails of the aircraft with the airline's logo; and now applying the Star Alliance logo sans the black tailfin painting, leaving it white. Asiana Airlines was the first Star Alliance member to paint their aircraft in the current Star Alliance livery.^[62] Aircraft painted in their airline's regular livery have the Star Alliance logo painted on the aircraft between the cockpit and the first set of cabin doors. Currently, 80 aircraft are painted in the Star Alliance livery.

References

External links

Media related to Star Alliance at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Photos of aircraft in Star Alliance livery