)
The brass of Star Alliance will meet in London on Monday to decide on Air India's induction into the 26-member global airlines’ grouping which could give the government-owned carrier's passengers the facility of seamless travel to over 1,200 destinations. If the membership is granted, it would end Air India's seven-year wait to access the alliance's global network of 18,000 daily flights to 1,269 airports in 193 countries.
The member-airlines of Star Alliance together own a total of 4,338 aircraft and fly 640 million passengers a year, many of whom can also earn and burn frequent flyer miles on the entire alliance network.
The Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB), at its meeting in London on Monday, could give an endorsement vote to induct Air India into the fold, paving the way for the integration of all its systems, including ticket booking and flight scheduling, into the global network.
The membership is expected to result in several benefits for the airline and its passengers, including a rise in Air India's share on the India-US route by about 20 per cent from about 13 per cent now within the first year itself.
The India-US route being a key market for Air India, the membership would mean that its passengers travelling to the US would have easier access to many more cities there as they would be able to seamlessly travel on other Star Alliance member airlines flights going to America.
Alliance CEO Mark Schwab had earlier said the grouping had long held that India was such an important aviation market that it should be fully represented.
Observing that the Indian market was now showing signs of stabilisation, he had said, "Today we see an Air India which has successfully completed its merger with Indian Airlines and is building up a new fleet that forms the basis for a much improved level of service.
