Air India expected to join Star Alliance by Summer 2014

This has been the subject of discussion since 2007: the inclusion of Air India in Star Alliance. Like I discussed in December 2013, Air India had finally got its second invitation to be included in the Star Alliance, with the first one having been put on hold in July 2011.

While it seems far fetched that Air India will move in such a fast speed to be included in the Star Alliance, the Alliance CEO Mark F Schwab, who visited Air India last week in Mumbai, seems to be confident that the airline would be included in the alliance as per Summer 2014. Here is a quote from the Aviation Week:

Without giving a specific date, one can say that we will complete all the ground work and formalities of Air India’s entry into the Star Alliance club by this summer. After that, they will be ready to join straightaway.

And yes, this is also going to open the doors for another carrier to get into Star Alliance from India. While I am confident it won’t be Jet Airways anymore, there is another airline which is going to start operations in India soon, and it could be a possible player with its linkages to Star Alliance founding member Singapore Airlines.

Watch this space for more information on the integration as and when it happens.

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About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

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Comments

  1. A few of us got to meet an SQ VP last week as part of the FT DO and he stated that (at the moment) there aren’t any plans for the new SQ India venture to be a part of Star Alliance.

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