Air India Joins Star Alliance
Star Alliance welcomed Air India as a full member of its global family of airlines, opening the national carrier’s strong domestic network in the fifth largest aviation market to Star Alliance customers worldwide.
Air India now offers all Star Alliance customer benefits across its network and Air India’s customers enjoy the same benefits when they travel on any of the other 26 Star Alliance member airlines.
“From today, we open up a completely different world for our passengers, who can now travel to over 1,300 destinations right across the network and enjoy world-class service, better connectivity and seamless travel wherever they go,” Air India Chairman and Managing Director Rohit Nandan said.
Air India adds a total of 400 daily flights and over 40 new destinations in India to the Alliance network. The biggest growth will come from its home market which has up to now been served by 13 Star Alliance members flying to 10 destinations and holding a 13 percent market share.
As a result of the addition of Air India, the Alliance’s market share in India has risen to 30 percent. Globally, passengers further benefit from a wider choice on routes connecting North America, Europe, Asia and Australia via the Indian Subcontinent. In total the Star Alliance network counts 27 member airlines, offering more than 18,500 daily flights serving 1,316 destinations in 192 countries.
Air India’s network comprises 50 destinations in India and 33 internationally, serving 23 countries. The addition of over 40 unique destinations domestically offers passengers excellent connectivity between major business centers. New destinations include the industrial hubs of Aurangabad and Vadadora; Indore, which is home to many pharmaceutical producers; textiles and engineering centre Coimbatore and Jamnagar, India’s “Oil City.” Air India also serves popular tourist destinations such as Goa, Kochi, Madurai and Jaipur.
As part of its Star Alliance membership, Air India now participates in several of the Alliance’s fare products and business solutions.