Star adds Brussels Airlines, targets up to 50 members

Star Alliance yesterday confirmed that Brussels Airlines, which is owned partially by Lufthansa, will join the organization, and Star CEO Jaan Albrecht said the 21-member group eventually may more than double in size.

"We have a lot of requests from carriers" to join the alliance, he told ATWOnline yesterday at Star's annual board meeting in Chicago. "We are now working on a new concept that we can see up to 50 member carriers in the future. That could mean maybe 30 or 40 or even more carriers." He said greater size will mean greater strength during downturns like the one currently facing the industry. "We developed from a 'good weather' alliance to a global alliance that can handle difficult situations like now," he said.

Star already is set to add Continental Airlines (now in SkyTeam), Air India and TAM (ATWOnline, Oct. 8). Albrecht said it is talking to "several carriers" regarding future membership, especially in Africa and Latin America. "But we don't need a hub in the desert. We are not talking to Middle East carriers about joining Star," he said.

To handle its much larger future, Star is examining restricting its leadership and management, Albrecht revealed. He said that smaller carriers will provide "local leadership" while Star linchpins like LH or United Airlines will offer "global leadership." He said management strategy "is one of the main topics we are working on currently." He assured that membership will not be stratified and that every Star airline, regardless of size, will be considered a full member.

No timeline was revealed regarding SN's membership. It will become Star's 10th European member and operates 45 aircraft on approximately 300 flights to 55 European and 15 African destinations. Lufthansa reached agreement to purchase 45% of SN in September and has an option to acquire the remainder in 2011 (ATWOnline, Oct. 28). UA Chairman, President and CEO Glenn Tilton cited Brussels' "greater connectivity throughout Europe and Africa" as its appealing feature. LH will sponsor SN through the membership process.