Bhuvaneswari Srinivasan, Singapore Airlines

Sandra Au, Singapore Airlines

Nigel Little, bmi

Beri Dobrenic, Lufthansa

Adel Baragith, Lufthansa

Beth Turner, United

Katie Russell, United

Surisa Suthasupa, THAI

Star Alliance Connections is a project that is at nine hub airports, and was created to keep customers and bags from missing their connecting flights. The centres are helping to produce cost savings for the carriers, and a seamless travel experience for customers. Customers who may not make their next flights are flagged by Connections staff, who meet the arriving planes and escort passengers through airport formalities to ensure they make their onward flights. Recipients were:

Karen Staniek-Gerhardt, Lufthansa

Cordula Krebs, Lufthansa

Monicka Motsch, Lufthansa

Tim Imabayashi, ANA

“The rush to join Star Alliance has a lot to do with strategy, critical mass and the economy,” said Marcus Puffer, Director, Network and Membership Development. “When the Alliance was founded 11 years ago, the concept was new. Some thought an alliance was simply a marketing gimmick. Today we know that alliances bring real value both to the members and their customers.”

Puffer used the analogy of gravitational pull as one reason for the unprecedented interest in joining Star Alliance. “A large alliance will attract more members simply because of the stability it brings in uncertain times. Since most of the larger carriers are already in one of the three alliances, smaller carriers see the need to align themselves to ensure their own stability, and in some cases, survival in a difficult environment. We are successful in attracting carriers, especially today, because we are the largest and most integrated alliance with a strong proposition.”

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“We are very happy with this invitation from Star Alliance and we look forward to becoming a member carrier,” said Bernard Gustin, Managing Director. “Together we will be able to bring all the advantages of Star Alliance to our customers, both at the heart of Europe where we have our state-of-the-art hub, and to Africa, our second home where we have more than 80 years of experience.”

Brussels Airlines is owned by SN Airholding. On Sept. 15, Lufthansa announced an equity investment in the Belgian airline. Subject to EU approval, Lufthansa will acquire 45 per cent of SN Airholding shares.

CEO Rob Fyfe said Air New Zealand has nothing but admiration for the French authorities involved in the search and rescue and victim identification processes and has thanked them for the professionalism and compassion that they have consistently displayed.

Charlotte was chosen for a Connection Centre because of the large number of connecting passengers. For example, between April, 2007, and March, 2008, more than 300,000 passengers connected on the four Alliance carriers, making it the 11^th largest connecting hub for the Alliance.

“SCCs ensure that more bags are transferred between the Star Alliance carriers, reducing the costs of mishandled bags and making the travel experience for our passengers a pleasant one,” said Susanne McLaughlin, Regional Director for the Americas. “In a few months, we’ll open another SCC in Philadelphia. That airport follows Charlotte as the 12^th largest connecting hub with the same four operating carriers.”

On board were Air New Zealand pilot Captain Brian Horrell, 52 of Auckland; Murray White, 37, an engineer also from Auckland; Michael Gyles, 49, and Noel Marsh, 35, both engineers from Christchurch.

The airline has started a book of condolences and Air New Zealand flags were flown at half staff. Flowers were laid outside the Air New Zealand headquarters in Auckland.

Pictured: Deputy CEO Norm Thompson and fellow NZ staff lay wreaths on the spot where the A320 plunged into the sea off Perpignan.

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The lounge is the fourth Star Alliance lounge in the system. The others are at London Heathrow Terminal 1, Los Angeles’ Tom Bradley International Terminal and at Nagoya’s Centrair Airport.

The accident happened Nov. 28. The A320 had been leased to XL Airways of Germany. It was being flown by XL Airways to Frankfurt where it was due to be handed back to Air New Zealand for a ferry flight back to New Zealand. Four NZ employees were on the flight and are still missing.

The search operation had continued through the night, with 150 people involved, using five boats, two helicopters and a light aircraft. Weather continued to make the search challenging. Thirty divers were deployed and a minesweeper is searching for black boxes and fuselage. The airline continued to receive many messages of condolence and support from the New Zealand public and industry representatives throughout the world.

The Airbus A320 operated by XL Airways of Germany was lost in the Mediterranean. The aircraft is owned by Air New Zealand and was on lease to XL Airways for the past two years. The aircraft was being flown by XL Airways to Frankfurt where it was due to be handed back to Air New Zealand for a ferry flight back to New Zealand.

Four Air New Zealand employees were on board the aircraft as observers during a pre-acceptance flight before its return to Air New Zealand. They are Captain Brian Horrell, 52, from Auckland, Murray White, 37, from Auckland, Michael Gyles, 49, from Christchurch, and Noel Marsh, 35, from Christchurch.

"This is an unbelievably difficult time for the families of those who are missing,” said CEO Rob Fyfe. “I conveyed to them my deepest sympathies and those of all Air New Zealanders as we await further information on their loved ones. I was also able to re-assure them that Air New Zealand is receiving the full support of the New Zealand Government and the Search and Rescue authorities in France and we are confident that everything is being done to locate those still missing."

The four missing men have long ties with NZ: Captain Brian Horrell, 22 years service, Michael Gyles, 30 years, Noel Marsh, 6 years, and Murray White, 19 years.

Authorities are considering using an air force base outside Bangkok and have alerted all airports nationwide to be ready to receive more diverted flights.

Thai Airways said on Wednesday it expected to lose revenue of about 500 million baht ($14 million US) a day.

Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Thursday night declared a state of emergency in the two airports, adding the decree was only temporary to allow police to clear the airports of protesters.

In Mumbai, future Star Alliance member Air India reports all of its operations are normal following the terrorist attacks in that city overnight. The airports authority also reports normal operations today.

Lufthansa is reported to have canceled a flight last night. Singapore Airlines said it is operating flights as normal to India. "Security in and around the international airport has been tightened,'' Singapore spokesman Stephen Forshaw told Bloomberg News. "We noticed higher-than-normal no-shows on this morning's flight, which is quite understandable as people seek to become clear on what's going on.''

For more on the situation in Bangkok, visit our news partners, Asia News Network at the link below.

Press reports indicate that anti-government protesters caused chaos in the terminal Tuesday. People’s Alliance for Democracy protestors broke into the control tower at Suvarnabhumi airport, and thousands of passengers slept overnight on benches and luggage carousels.

Thai Airways diverted its 16 international flights to Bangkok's Don Muang Airport, while another three were diverted to U-Tapao Airport, about 160 km. from Bangkok. All of THAI's flights from Suvarnabhumi have stopped. Domestic flights to and from Don Muang Airport are remaining normal. 

Also Tuesday, THAI’s President, Apinan Sumanaseni tendered his resignation effective Jan. 1. Narongsak Sangapong, THAI’s Executive Vice-President - Corporate Secretariat Department has assumed his duties.

Sumanaseni has been THAI’s President since May, 2006.

You can read more about the situation by using the link below to our partner news service, Asia News Network, or check out our "HotTopics" news crawl at the top of this website.

The Marketplace was the largest ever held by the Alliance.

And Singapore Airlines has lowered its fuel surcharges for travellers in business and economy classes on all routes. The reduction is the second time since September that Singapore has reduced fuel surcharges, in line with the recent sustained fall in the price of jet fuel. Surcharges are reduced to between 28 and 180 US, depending on route and class.

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Preliminary data shows the fuel meets all required specifications for use in commercial aviation and a technical team is now putting the fuel through a rigorous testing process to further validate its specifications.

Subject to the fuel meeting the necessary scientific criteria, a test flight on an Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400, powered by Rolls-Royce engines RB211, will take place in Auckland in December, with an exact date to be confirmed once fuel testing is complete.

The jatropha oil Air New Zealand has sourced and refined for its test flight comes from South Eastern Africa (Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania) and India. It was sourced from seeds grown on environmentally sustainable farms.

Jatropha is a plant that grows to approximately three metres high and produces seeds that contain inedible lipid oil that is used to produce fuel. Each seed produces between 30 and 40 percent of its mass in oil and jatropha can be grown in a range of difficult conditions, including arid and otherwise non-arable areas, leaving prime areas available for food crops.

Han Tae Keun, Executive Vice President of Cabin & Airport ASIANA said, "Our alliance, which began with sharing flight codes, has been spreading and developing across the board very successfully. I hope this joint environmental initiative will be continued in Korea next year."

ANA, together with Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai and Sakai Minato City Mayor Katsuji Nakamura, signed a three year Forestry Protection & Management Accord on January 24, in which the airline committed to planting tress in the area surrounding Yonago airport as part of a wider reforestation programme run by Tottori Prefecture. This is ANA's second tree-planting project in the Yonago airport vicinity, and the 26th forest nationwide in the last five years.

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Low-cost airline Sterling Airlines, based in Iceland filed for bankruptcy Wednesday.

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The lower surcharges apply to tickets for travel originating in Switzerland that are issued from today onwards.

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“Through this campaign, we are aiming simply to remind our international audience of the benefits we’re spearheading for the industry, including alliance-wide priority baggage, Connection Centres at our major hubs and alliance lounges to name a few. After all, our frequent international travellers have truly earned it!,” said Mark Davies, Director, Marketing Communications.

Complementing the campaign, Star Alliance has also developed an international business etiquette guide (pictured above) to recognise the importance of different cultures when doing business around the world.

The campaign has advertisements on news, business and travel websites that direct visitors to a video landing page on www.staralliance.com. The campaign will also run in member carriers’ in-flight magazines, on entertainment channels and in posters at London-Heathrow and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airports.

By sharing the facility the carriers save office space, rental fees and housekeeping costs. All carriers also use the same baggage delivery company. More savings are foreseen when the T2 carriers move in and a common handling contract is developed for those carriers. 

LHR T1 is the 18th in the Star Alliance network.