ATW Daily News

Star Alliance welcomes Air China

Tuesday May 23, 2006

Less than two weeks after establishing a foothold in China with the addition of Shanghai Airlines, Star Alliance yesterday solidified its presence with the addition of Air China, the country's most profitable carrier.Once the two airlines become full members, Star will have bases in both Shanghai and Beijing, giving it a leg up on rivals SkyTeam, which signed an MOU with Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines in 2004, and oneworld, which still is without a member based in mainland China and eventually may look to Shanghai's China Eastern Airlines.

Air China signed an MOU with Star yesterday in Beijing at a ceremony attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese aviation officials and Star CEO Jaan Albrecht, who said that the alliance now has "taken the decisive step in implementing our strategy for the Chinese market." Shanghai Airlines and Air China will become Star's 19th and 20th members and expand its network to 912 destinations in 160 countries.

"With economic globalization and open skies, the competition in the airline industry will become more and more severe. No one airline can create a global network by itself. In order to survive and develop, airlines have to cooperate with other partners in various forms, including multilateral alliance cooperation," Air China Chairman Li Jiaxiang said.

Air China operates a fleet of 176 aircraft and flies to 70 domestic and 36 international destinations. It already codeshares and cooperates with Star carriers ANA, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Asiana Airlines, SAS, United Airlines and Varig.

by Brian Straus

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