Star Alliance turns 20

“As Star Alliance celebrates 20 years of ‘Connecting People and Cultures’, the member carriers look forward to forging even stronger connections and collaboration within the Alliance in order to make the customer’s journey even better,” said Krittaphon Chantalitanon, THAI vice president of Alliances and Commercial Strategy Department.
Chavanee Tongroach, vice minister for Tourism and Sports, was among the 300 guests who attended the anniversary cocktail reception, which included top tier frequent flyers, corporate clients, embassy officials, tourism authorities, and top travel agents. Writer Ploy Chariyaves, actor/TV host Krirkphol Masayavanich and Norbert Kostner, executive chef of Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok shared the experiences during the evening.
Star Alliance was founded by five member airlines, THAI, Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, and United Airlines. From the day of its establishment on May 1997, the Star Alliance vision was and remains the leading global airline alliance for high-value international travellers. Twenty years after its founding, Star Alliance has grown substantially with a total of 28 member carriers and a global network that together reaches more than 1,300 destinations in 191 countries. As passengers’ needs continue to change and evolve, Star Alliance’s focus is to make the customer journey better by applying digital technologies allowing passengers greater ability to manage their own travels.
A total of 16 Star Alliance carriers have offices in Thailand of which 14 carriers operate scheduled flights to and from Thailand, namely THAI, Air China, Air India, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Egyptair, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, Lufthansa, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, and Turkish Airlines. Two Star carriers – South African Airways and United Airlines – have sales offices in Thailand. In addition to the full carriers, the Star Alliance Connecting Partner, Juneyao Airlines also operates to Thailand.