VANCOUVER, June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Air Canada welcomed
in Vancouver today the chief
executives of more than 20 Star Alliance member airlines. The
annual Star Alliance strategy meeting of CEOs marks the fifteenth
anniversary of the world's first and most comprehensive airline
alliance that was founded in 1997 by Air Canada, Lufthansa,
Scandinavian Airlines, THAI and United Airlines and has since grown
to encompass 25 of the world's leading airlines worldwide.
"We are pleased to host the chief executives of our Star
Alliance partners in Vancouver for
this annual forum to discuss the strategy for Star Alliance going
forward," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Air Canada. "Over the past fifteen years, Star
Alliance has consistently distinguished itself as the world's
premiere airline group. Star Alliance was founded on the
principle of offering customers the reach of a global network
beyond what any single carrier is able to do on its own, and
rewarding our respective customers' loyalty by providing reciprocal
privileges across the world's leading airlines. Working
together to meet our customers' international travel needs has
become our hallmark, one that we continue to build as we look for
ways to simplify our customers' travel experience and earn their
loyalty."
"On behalf of the Star Alliance CEOs I would like to thank Air
Canada for hosting our annual Chief Executive Board Strategy Forum
during their 75th Anniversary year," said Mark Schwab, Chief Executive Officer of Star
Alliance. "While modern technology has greatly improved global
communications in the business world, the feedback we receive from
our customers confirms our own belief that face-to-face meetings
will never be replaced by 'virtual' ones. These regular meetings of
our top executives ensure that our strategy continues to meet the
changing needs of our customers, even as Star Alliance itself
celebrates its 15th Anniversary year."
Examples of Star Alliance benefits for customers include
check-in to final destination, faster and smoother airport
transfers, reciprocal frequent flyer program mileage redemption and
accrual that counts towards top tier status, Star Alliance Gold and Silver benefits including
worldwide lounge access and Alliance-wide fare products such as the
popular Round the World Fare and regional Airpasses. For more
information, visit www.staralliance.com
About Star Alliance
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first
truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition
and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance
by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the
Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline
Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The
member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada,
Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1,
Brussels Airlines, Croatia
Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines,
Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African
Airways, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI,
United and US Airways. Avianca-TACA, Copa Airlines, EVA Air and
Shenzhen Airlines have been announced as future members. Overall,
the Star Alliance network offers more than 20,500 daily flights to
1,293 airports in 190 countries.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international
airline serving more than 175 destinations on five
continents. Canada's flag
carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in
2011 served more than 33 million customers. Air Canada
provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian
cities, 56 destinations in the United
States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle
East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South
America. Air Canada is a
founding member of Star Alliance. Air Canada customers can
collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier
members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge
and priority services. In 2011, Air Canada was ranked Best
International Airline in North
America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million
airline passengers conducted by independent research firm
Skytrax.
Note to photo editors: A high resolution photo from the
meeting is available to download at www.aircanada.com/en/media
SOURCE AIR CANADA