STAR ALLIANCE NEWS Celebrating 15 years of improving global air travel Croatia Airlines accomplished one of its strategic goals by joining the Star Alliance network in November 2004. Joining this prestigious alliance confirmed that Croatia Airlines operates in line with the highest international aviation standards and provides its passengers with comfortable and safe journeys to their destinations. The Star Alliance network covers regional hubs to which the Croatian market is naturally oriented, which contributes to increased competitiveness and the strengthening of Croatia Airlines’ business position. Its membership in the network enabled the company’s presence on new markets, the optimisation of its flight schedule and business network, the rationaliszation of costs and a number of other benefits, such as the use of common know-how and the IT system. The company’s network products have been improved to bring many additional values to the passengers, who are provided with services of recognizable quality and standards. In addition to new opportunities for top quality travels, our customers can choose from a large number of destinations all over the world and use our common global transportation products. Its membership in the network enabled Croatia Airlines to strengthen its position as the regional leader in South East Europe, bringing it additional global recognition through the Star Alliance brand.
Srecko Simunovic, President & CEO, Croatia Airlines STAR ALLIANCE
In 1997, Star Alliance as the first global airline alliance launched a completely new concept in
aviation. We led the field with ideas that improved services for our passengers globally. Our airlines moved closer together in airports, IT systems were tailored to enable seamless travel and countless smaller and larger projects made travel easier and smoother. There’s been a lot of change in aviation in the last 15 years — a whole business segment has emerged with the low-cost carriers, we have a new generation of huge widebodies, we suffered the effects and after-effects of 9/11 and we have learned to cope with disruption from events as diverse as volcanic ash and political revolution in our carriers’ home countries. Star Alliance has remained relevant throughout — for its member airlines, and most importantly, for its passengers. To maintain our relevance, we must ensure that we remain ahead of the curve, innovating to meet the ever-changing demands of the global frequent traveller. Croatia Airlines employees are among over 400,000 staff across the Alliance working daily with individual passengers to deliver on the fundamental promise of seamless travel. I should like to thank you for your part in the success story that is Star Alliance.
Mark Schwab, Chief Executive Officer of Star Alliance
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The birth of Star Alliance At the time, it was ground-breaking: five major airlines forming an alliance that would give passengers access to a global route network comprising over 6,000 daily departures to 106 countries, with the promise of “seamless” global travel and the ability to earn frequent flyer miles wherever they flew.
Star Alliance was born on May 14, 1997 with five
operation. The focus was firmly on marketing - and
founder members — Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS,
the passenger. The underlying motivation that
THAI and United. Announced at a ceremony in
customers attracted by this new global network
Frankfurt, with widebodies from the five founder
would fill airline seats and so contribute to profits
airlines on display in an iconic nose-to-nose
was, of course, an important element, but financial
formation on the ground, the alliance was simply the
benefits took a backseat to the passenger vision.
biggest tie-up to date in the aviation industry.
The CEOs of the founder airlines outlined a future
A close-formation flyby of the five widebodies
where passengers could travel across the joint
over the airport secured the event a special place in
network as easily as they would connect across the
aviation history.
route map of a single airline.
Star Alliance was conceived from the outset as
Global access, seamless service and worldwide
a loose cooperation between the airlines involved
recognition were the Alliance’s three main attributes —
— with no intention to underpin this with cross-
tailored for a target audience of frequent international
investment or other deeper forms of balance-sheet
CO NT INUED O N PA GE 4
MAY 14, 1997 Widebodies from the five founder airlines — Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, THAI and United — in an iconic nose-to-nose formation at the joining ceremony in Frankfurt.
STAR ALLIANCE: A Chronological History ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT
1997-1998
1999
2000
May, 14: Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways International and United Airlines launch the Star Alliance network. October: VARIG Brazilian Airlines joins Star Alliance.
March: Ansett Australia and Air New Zealand join Star Alliance. October: ANA joins Star Alliance.
March: The Austrian Airlines Group, comprising Austrian Airlines, Lauda Air and Tyrolean Airways, joins Star Alliance. April: Singapore Airlines joins Star Alliance. July: British Midland and Mexicana Airlines become Star Alliance members.
September: Star Alliance launches StarNet.
GOVERNANCE
November: Star Alliance announces the completion of its fulltime Alliance Management Team, the executive body of the partnership.
May: Star Alliance business centre opens in Los Angeles (the centre was closed in 2004 as part of creating a stronger centralised organisation). August: Opening of a Star Alliance business centre in Frankfurt. December: Opening of a Star Alliance business centre in Bangkok (the centre was closed in 2006).
2002
ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTS
March: Star Alliance is first to launch a global e-service initiative.
May: Star Alliance launches downloadable timetable. August: Member airlines launch comprehensive frequent flyer awards. May: Jaan Albrecht announced as CEO.
AWARDS
INFRASTRUCTURE
2003 March: Asiana Airlines joins Star Alliance. April: Spanair joins Star Alliance. October: LOT Polish Airlines joins Star Alliance.
GOVERNANCE
PRODUCTS
INFRASTRUCTURE
2001
November: Star Alliance voted best airline alliance in U.S. Business Traveller magazine poll.
August: Opening of the first Star Alliance lounge in Zurich. October: Zurich lounge is named among the world’s ten best by Forbes magazine.
June: Star Alliance voted best airline alliance in Skytrax poll. September: Star Alliance selected as best airline alliance by U.K. Business Traveler magazine. November: Star Alliance selected as best airline alliance by U.S. Business Traveler magazine.
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customers, who were travelling the world to meet
clear that the individual airlines would retain their
the needs of an increasingly globalised business
distinct characters. This was not a merger by stealth.
environment.
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“The Star Alliance poses no threat to competition
Beyond passenger benefits, the CEOs said they would pool their purchasing power to negotiate better deals with suppliers for provision of amenities,
and provides distinct customer benefits,” the founder airlines said. The proof of this came both in regulatory
facilities, technology and even aircraft. Some
endorsement of the alliance idea on both sides
benefits were seen as possible in cargo, but this was
of the Atlantic, but also in the announcement of
never really the focus.
further rival alliances, the now familiar oneworld and
“Indisputably, the race to form the biggest airline alliance has a new leader. While a slew of partner-
SkyTeam. American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay
ships have been fashioned over the past few years,
Pacific, Canadian Airlines and Qantas announced
none provide quite the same punch as the new Star
in September 1998 that they planned an alliance
Alliance,” travel writer Stacy Small wrote in Travel
link-up. Oneworld was born on February 1, 1999.
Agent magazine at the time. Brazil’s Varig was already earmarked as the sixth member, and indeed joined Star Alliance just
Aeromexico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air followed suit and formed SkyTeam in June 2000. Today, Star Alliance has more than doubled in size
five months later in October 1997, by which time
in terms of destinations served and comprises a
it had achieved the fundamental requirement for
far wider mix of airlines, some of whom are global
membership of having a partnership agreement with
players and others that reinforce the network with
all the other member airlines.
regional strength. New members are selected
Within days, press speculation was rife as to which airlines would join up next. South African Airways, Air New Zealand, Ansett, British Midland, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines were all quickly rumoured as future joiners. The beauty of the Star Alliance association was
carefully to meet high standards in terms of safety and service, as well as for their ability to complement the existing network. Alongside the rival alliances, competitive pressures are now coming from powerful unaligned carriers — with their policy of global connectivity via a central
its simplicity, and the inherent avoidance of any
hub, such as those in the Gulf region — and from
areas that might attract antitrust attention and so
low-cost carriers, which offer a lower base of service
present barriers to its going ahead. Its promise of
in return for cheap fare deals. In this environment,
giving more choice and a better service offer for
it becomes all the more important that Star Alliance
customers negated any possible downside for the
continues to deliver on those early promises of
consumer. Right from the beginning it was made
seamless travel for all of its passengers.
“Indisputably, the race to form the biggest airline alliance has a new leader. While a slew of partnerships have been fashioned over the past few years, none provide quite the same punch as the new Star Alliance.” Stacy Small, Travel Agent magazine
2004 2005 2006 ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCTS
AWARDS INFRASTRUCTURE
March: Mexicana Airlines’ membership in Star Alliance terminates. May: US Airways joins Star Alliance. November: Blue1 joins as the first regional member, followed by Adria Airways and Croatia Airlines.
March: TAP Portugal joins Star Alliance.
March: Star Alliance launches Asian Airpass October: Star Alliance launches the Round the World Mileage Calculator. December: Star Alliance launches Global Interline E-Ticketing.
September: Star Alliance finalises deal with Amadeus for common information technology platform. October: Star Alliance Interline E-Ticketing available across Canada and the U.S.
ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTS
June: Star Alliance named as world’s best airline alliance in Skytrax survey. February: Star Alliance carriers start flying from the new Central Japan International Airport (Nagoya). MAY: Member carriers open joint ticketing facility at Mexico City’s International Airport. August: Opening of Star Connection Centre in Munich.
2007
April: South African Airways and Swiss International Air Lines join Star Alliance.
December: Air China and Shanghai Airlines join Star Alliance.
January: Star Alliance launches online interactive tool for U.S.-based travel agents and corporate travel planners/bookers. April: African Airpass introduced. May: Upgrade Awards available on Asiana, TAP and THAI. July: United Airlines joins Star Alliance Upgrade Awards. December: SWISS becomes 10th member to offer Upgrade Awards.
March: Introduction of Common Baggage Service Facility at Chicago Airport International Terminal. July: Air New Zealand launches Star Alliance Upgrade Awards. December: SAS offers members Star Alliance Upgrade Awards.
GOVERNANCE
May: Star Alliance celebrates 10th anniversary. September: Star Alliance voted best airline at Business Traveller Awards.
January: Star Alliance voted Best Airline Alliance by Business Traveler Magazine (U.S.). August: Star Alliance voted best airline alliance in the Skytrax World Airline Survey for the third consecutive time (2007, 2005 and 2003). September: Star Alliance wins Best Airline Alliance Award from Business Traveller (UK).
MARKETING
December: www.staralliance.com website relaunch.
March: Launch of Visit Southern Africa Campaign.
INFRASTRUCTURE
June: Member carriers collocate in new South Wing, Terminal 1, at Tokyo’s Narita Airport
July: Opening of first lounge in North America at the Tom Bradley International Airport in Los Angeles. October: Air Canada, Lufthansa, SWISS, United and US Airways relocate to the new South Terminal at Miami International Airport.
AWARDS
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May 14 marks Star Alliance’s 15th Anniversary Fifteen years ago this month, a dream — to create a global airline alliance made up of the world’s best airlines — came true with the creation of Star Alliance. At the time, the Alliance consisted of five major airlines, and over the last decade and a half has grown five times larger and is now the leading airline alliance.
So what does this mean in practice?
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The CEOs have identified a number of essential services that form the cornerstone of the Alliance’s commitment to passengers. Surveys show that while satisfaction with the Alliance remains steady at a high level, passengers still do not always get the service that they expect. Our joint aim must be to close this gap.
Serving the Star Alliance Customer Star Alliance is a collection of
“The Anniversary is not about holding one, single event, but rather, to celebrate with employees and customers at a local level, and to say ‘Thanks’ for all that they have done over the past 15 years to make Star Alliance what it is today,” said Mark Schwab, CEO. At major hubs, local Star Alliance Airport Teams are planning celebrations in individual airports. Lounges and check-in areas will yield surprises for travellers who choose to fly on that particular day, May 14. Details of the celebrations and thank yous remain a closely-guarded secret until the day itself. Check www.staralliance.com and www.facebook.com/staralliance
Where Star Alliance is today
separate airlines that each has its own brand, its
service units at the different carriers and in some
own character and its own rules and regulations.
cases give greater access to tools, which allow for
Star Alliance’s competitiveness can be
But for the customer, the airlines are all members
a quicker solution to customer service requests.
enhanced further by focusing on quality.
of the same family — that tagline stating that your
Its strong Frequent Flyer Programmes plus
carrier is “a Star Alliance member” brings with it a
the home market strength of all members
shared responsibility to help other airlines in the
together with a truly seamless product create a
family to deal with their customers.
Through-Checkin Passengers who are flying on multiple legs to reach their destination should be able to receive
compelling customer proposition which none of
While frontline staff may not always be able to
the other competitors will be able to achieve on
resolve a problem for a customer from another
checked through to their final destination, even
a global scale.
airline as easily — for example because they
when different sectors of their trip are on different
This comes as a strong statement from
cannot access the PNR — the aim must always be
Star Alliance carriers. The only exception is when
the very top, as it was defined collectively
to give all customers the best possible service, as
this is not permitted due to local regulations in
by the Star Alliance member airlines’ CEOs.
has been the case from the birth of Star Alliance.
individual markets.
Together, they believe this is the right recipe to
This may mean working together with agents from
ensure the Alliance maximises its competitive
another airline to resolve a customer’s problem.
on May 14 and the following days for full
strength in an ever more challenging operating
information on 15th Anniversary activities.
environment.
all of their boarding cards and have their luggage
In practice, about one in five passengers tell us through-checkin did not work for them on their
Meanwhile, we are working centrally on changes that will forge stronger links between customer
CON TIN U E D ON PAG E 8
2008 2009 2010 ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTS
AWARDS MARKETING INFRASTRUCTURE
April: Turkish Airlines joins Star Alliance. July: EGYPTAIR joins Star Alliance.
January: Circle Fare and Airpass Calculator launched. February: China Airpass launched. August: Auto Document Check launched. September: Turkish Airlines participates in Star Alliance Upgrade Awards.
ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCTS
January: Star Alliance receives Market Leadership award from Air Transport World.
OCTOber: Launches new branding campaign.
March: Member carriers move under one roof to Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport and to Terminal 2 at Shanghai-Pudong Airport. July: Opening of Star Alliance lounge at London-Heathrow Terminal 1; Carriers move together under one roof at the main terminal of Seoul’s Incheon International Airport. December: Opening of lounge at Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport Terminal 1.
INFRASTRUCTURE
October: Continental Airlines joins Star Alliance. December: Brussels Airlines joins Star Alliance.
May: TAM joins Star Alliance. June: Aegean Airlines joins Star Alliance. November: AviancaTaca Airlines and Copa Airlines to join Star Alliance.
February: Launch of Middle East Airpass. July: Star Alliance launches Book and Fly. August: Star Alliance develops Common IT Mobile Platform. September: Circle North Asia fare launched. December: Meetings Plus product for meetings travel launched.
August: Launch of Brazil Airpass.
June: Member carriers move under one roof in Terminal 1 at London-Heathrow Airport; First alliance to move and operate at Terminal 1 at Barcelona El Prat Airport.
July: Member carriers move under one roof in the new Terminal 3 at New Delhi International Airport. October: Member carriers collocate at Haneda Airport’s new International Terminal.
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journey. In an ongoing programme, the carriers
checkin.
as possible make their connections
are now working together to iron out data incon-
2) They must be segregated from non-priority
and so arrive with the customer at the
sistencies in the communications between their IT
bags in sorting.
final destination.
programmes which mean that a through-checkin
3) Loading must follow the rules, so these bags
command gets rejected. Our target is for this to
can be quickly offloaded at the other end.
work 100% of the time.
4) Finally, they must be ahead of other bags when
For frontline agents at checkin desks, there are
Frequent Flyer Recognition The frequent flyers who attain
delivered to the collection belt.
Gold status with Star Alliance are the
three cardinal rules to make sure through-checkin works for as many passengers as possible:
lifeblood of the Star Alliance network.
Shared belts and other issues sometimes make it hard for passengers to assess whether priority
These passengers need to be made
1) Always check back with the passenger to
bags did in fact make it to the belt first. But even
to feel special at every step of the
ascertain his/her final destination.
our own internal monitoring proves it does not
way, regardless of which Star Alliance
2) If a through-checkin fails at the first attempt, try
always happen. Correct procedure and virtual
frequent flyer programme they belong
again! In some cases the first failed command will
teamwork are critical to success in this area.
to.
Interline Baggage Handling
aware of the benefits to which they
Most travellers in this group are well
have opened the flight for through-checkin, the second attempt will then be successful. 3) And finally — we know that many of our
Transference from one airline to another is a
are entitled — priority checkin, priority
systems have manual workarounds for the case
risk area for baggage, even across the Alliance.
baggage delivery, additional baggage
where the first automatic TCI attempt has failed.
Tackling this requires different solutions on the
allowance, lounge access, priority
ground, depending on the particular challenges of
boarding and priority waitlisting. On top
the individual airport.
of this comes the additional feel-good
Priority Bag Delivery One of the Star Alliance promises to customers
In some locations, Star Alliance has created a
factor of being “recognised” as a
with Gold status and other premium customers
Star Connections Centre whose function is to step
valued customer, regardless of which
is that their bags will be tagged as priority bags
in when a connection is tight and make sure that
airline the passenger flies on.
and be first on the belt for collection at their
a passenger’s bags make the transfer in time.
destination.
When time is tight, the standard baggage transfer
Alliance we do not always get this right
process may take just too long, and transfer
— they do not feel equally appreciated
directly from one aircraft to another is needed.
on all airlines. So next time you come
In practice, this only works when airline employees at every step of the way follow procedure, so that the next people in the chain can do their part. In summary: 1) Bags must be marked up as priority baggage at
Customer surveys show that as an
For 2012, Star Alliance has selected 17 stations
across a Star Alliance Gold passenger
for special attention on baggage interlining
in the course of your daily work, try
processes with the aim of improving performance.
to make him or her feel that little bit
It remains important to ensure that as many bags
special.
2011 2012 ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT PRODUCTS
GOVERNANCE AWARDS
MARKETING
July: Shenzhen Airlines accepted as future member. December: Ethiopian Airlines joins Star Alliance.
January: All Americas-based member carriers participating in Upgrade Awards. April: Micronesia Airpass becomes a fare product. July: Star Alliance goes mobile with iPhone App. August: Farefinder App for mobile devices unveiled. October: B/E Aerospace to supply Alliance’s long-haul economy class seats.
August: CEO Jaan Albrecht nominated to lead Austrian Airlines. December: Mark Schwab appointed new CEO.
July: Star Alliance best alliance at Skytrax World Airline Awards. October: Star Alliance voted best airline alliance at Business Traveler Awards.
March: Brand campaign for Biosphere Connections.
ALLIANCE DEVELOPMENT
PRODUCTS
January: The new United brand replaces Continental and United; Spanair’s membership in Star Alliance terminates. March: EVA Air accepted as future Star Alliance member. APRIL: British Midland International’s membership in Star Alliance terminates.
January: Conventions Plus becomes first alliance convention product to offer online booking.
“The Anniversary is not about holding one, single event, but rather, to celebrate with employees and customers at a local level, and to say ‘Thanks’ for all that they have done over the past 15 years to make Star Alliance what it is today.” MARK SCHWAB, CEO, STAR ALLIANCE
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A snapshot of the 25 Star Alliance members Total revenue ($US) Annual passengers Daily departures Number of Employees
$160.9 billion* Airports served 1,293 648.8 million Fleet 4,256 20,500 Lounges more than 950 411,218 Countries served 190
* all figures as of April, 2012
Star Alliance Member Carriers Fleet Number of Major hub size employees airports Adria Airways (JP)
14 452
Ljubljana
29 Aegean Airlines (A3)
1,615
Air Canada (AC)
352
26,000
Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary
Air China (CA)
288
24,474
Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai
Air New Zealand (NZ)
102
10,800
Auckland, Los Angeles, Hong Kong
ANA (NH)
232
33,183
Tokyo, Haneda, Osaka
71
9,041
Asiana Airlines (OZ)
Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Rhodes, Larnaca
Seoul Incheon, Seoul Gimpo
Austrian (OS)
81 6,000
Vienna
Blue1 (KF)
9 350
Helsinki
Brussels Airlines (SN)
51 3,300
Brussels
Croatia Airlines (OU)
13 1,095
Zagreb
EGYPTAIR (MS)
79 7,500
Cairo
Ethiopian Airlines (ET)
48
Addis Ababa, Lome
LOT Polish Airlines (LO)
54 2,887
Warsaw
Lufthansa (LH)
355
39,938
Frankfurt, Munich
Scandinavian Airlines (SK)
136
12,833
Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm
Singapore Airlines (SQ)
104
13,929
Singapore Changi
South African Airways (SA)
49 9,223
Johannesburg
SWISS (LX)
90 7,644
Zurich
TAM (JJ)
156
29,700
S達o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia
TAP Portugal (TP)
71
7,055
Thai Airways Intl (TG)
91
24,563
Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hat Yai
Turkish Airlines (TK)
179
15,599
Istanbul, Ankara
1,262 United (UA)
86,402
Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York (Newark), San Francisco, Tokyo (Narita), Washington (Dulles)
US Airways (US) 340
32,000
Charlotte, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Phoenix Bogota, San Salvador, San Jose, Lima
5,635
Lisbon, Porto
Soon to join Avianca, Taca Airlines (AVTA)
150
12,000
Copa Airlines (CM)
60
4,772
EVA Air (BR)
59 5,489
Taipei
Shenzhen Airlines (ZH)
100 8,000
Shenzhen
Panama City