Shanghai to end Star Alliance membership

Shanghai Airlines 737- 800. Photo: Rob Finlayson.

Shanghai Airlines reached an agreement with Star Alliance to “terminate” its membership by the end of October, Star announced this week.

It noted that the move results from SAL’s recent merger with China Eastern Airlines (ATW Daily News, July 1). The latter joined SkyTeam in April, and although SAL never officially confirmed it also would join SkyTeam, it was widely anticipated it would leave Star. The carrier joined the Lufthansa-led alliance in December 2007 along with Air China.

“The departure of SAL will lead to a slight reduction of the Star network in China but the decision was not unexpected and member carriers have been exploring several options to fill the gap,” an industry insider told ATW, conceding that one of the possible options is to bring some of Air China’s “recent airline acquisitions” into the alliance as full members.

Air China in March became the majority shareholder of Shenzhen Airlines when it increased its stake from 25% to 51% (ATW Daily News, May 14). Shenzhen is the country's fifth-largest carrier and is providing Air Chinawith a strong foothold in the Pearl River Delta region.