STAR ALLİANCE SUCCESSFUL GROWTH

FRANKFURT– Star Alliance Corporate Plus, the alliance"s programme for global corporate travel needs, has continued its successful growth since its inception seven years ago. Figures for 2007, the alliance"s 10th anniversary year, show a further 10 per cent increase with flown revenues rising from 2.2 billion euros to 2.4 billion euros.

The addition of Air China and Shanghai Airlines has proved popular with corporate customers, as access to the booming China market has been improved. Henkel, a worldwide leading producer of Home Care, Personal Care, and Adhesives Technologies products, and an existing global Corporate Plus client of Star Alliance commented: “We share the delight over the joining of Air China and Shanghai Airlines into the alliance. By including the carriers into our global agreement, we now have more travel options throughout Asia for our employees to choose from,” said Birgit Schenscher, Director, Global Purchasing Services.

The Corporate Plus programme has recently grown with the joining of Turkish Airlines on April 1,  and will be further enhanced with the imminent joining of EgyptAir.

With Star Alliance already having more corporate accounts than any other airline alliance, the main focus has been on deepening and maintaining existing relationships. Nevertheless, six new corporate accounts now make use of the benefits provided by Star Alliance Corporate Plus and the Star Alliance network.

“The fact that we have again achieved a further increase in revenues through Star Alliance Corporate Plus, pegged against a background of a more volatile global economy, clearly speaks about the high degree of market acceptance of this product,” said Christopher Korenke, Vice President, Commercial at Star Alliance.

”This tailor-made product brings great value to global corporations and their travel management. By recognising the global purchasing power, we bring the best offer to the table, compared to local and individual deals.

Simplicity is guaranteed by having only one point of contact working within a clear timeline and framework on one legal platform. The contract implementation phase is centrally done, and account management plans lead the way to a successful contract and relationship,” said Korenke.

About Star Alliance:

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers worldwide reach and a smooth travel experience. Star Alliance received the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award in 2008 and was voted Best Airline Alliance by Business Traveller Magazine in 2003, 2006 and 2007 and by Skytrax in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The members are Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Regional member carriers Adria Airways (Slovenia), Blue1 (Finland) and Croatia Airlines enhance the global network. Air India and Egyptair have been accepted as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers nearly 18,000 daily flights to 965 destinations in 162 countries.