Why airline alliances work for global travellers

From smoother journeys to frequent flyer perks, partnerships in the skies offer benefits to all

WORDS CHRIS CHAMBERLIN

Airline alliances are the gold standard of modern aviation. Consistency and proper integration between airlines remove much hassle from the travel experience. But formal alliances offer so much more – and not just for passengers. Let’s wind the clock back to 1997, when the concept first took flight. Hungry for new opportunities, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Thai Airways and United Airlines banded together to form Star Alliance. Dubbed “The Airline Network for Earth”, its name tips its key objective – having a broad network of destinations dotted across the map, like clusters of stars in the night sky. For the trivia buffs, Star Alliance’s logo also connects five points to create a circuit – representing the five founding airlines working together. Precious metals represent Star’s global frequent flyer tiers:…

You're reading a preview of

Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition (Digital) - 1 Issue, May - June 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.