Star Alliance to get even better: All Nippon Airways to join
Star Alliance to get even better: All Nippon Airways to join Star Alliance, the airline network for earth, will get even better with the announcement in Rio de Janeiro today that All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan, the world's sixth largest airline, intends to join in 1999 as the ninth member of the alliance. ANA will join the six founding members of Star Alliance - Air Canada, Lufthansa German Airlines, SAS, Thai Airways International, United Airlines and Varig Brazilian Airlines - along with Air New Zealand and Ansett Australia, which have announced their intent to join in 1999. With the addition of ANA, Star Alliance customers will have improved access to many important business destinations in Japan. ANA is Japan's largest domestic airline and offers the most comprehensive network of destinations in the country, in addition to its international route network. "Joining Star Alliance was for us the first step toward our goal of providing a truly seamless, global travel experience... we believe that this move will yield tremendous benefits for both ANA customers and customers of Star Alliance", said Kichisaburo Nomura, President and Chief Executive Officer of ANA. R. Lamar Durrett, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada; Gerald Greenwald, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Airlines; Fernando Pinto, President and Chief Executive Officer of VARIG; Jan Stenberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of SAS; Thamnoon Wanglee, President of THAI; and Jürgen Weber, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa, said in a joint statement, "Star Alliance was founded in May, 1997, and as the first truly global airline alliance, we have a head start on the competition. We intend to stay ahead of any other emerging alliances. With nine airlines working together, we will be able to deliver even more services to even more passengers, all around the globe." Star Alliance travelers collect frequent flyer points on all of Star Alliance airlines and credit them to their home airline account. Star Alliance business travelers visit airport lounges of any member airline, anywhere in the world. Travelers benefit from schedules and facilities that are constantly being re-designed for better coordination and convenience. ANA has a fleet of 143 Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Last year, ANA carried more than 40 million passengers. ANA serves 35 destinations in Japan with nearly 600 flights per day, and its international operations extend to 29 cities in 15 countries. Together, the member airlines of Star Alliance currently serve more than 640 destinations around the world. On average, a Star Alliance flight takes off every 15 seconds, around the clock. With the addition of ANA, Air New Zealand and Ansett in 1999, Star Alliance will serve more than 700 destinations worldwide. For further information: SAS Corporate Communications, tel. +46 8 797 23 06, fax +46 8 797 15 15 ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net