SWISS International Air Lines, a Star Alliance member
The world’s “big” three, most important airline alliances include Star Alliance, oneworld, and SkyTeam. Star Alliance is the world’s largest airline alliance with 27 member airlines and the strongest route network. Star Alliance was founded on 14 May 1997 by five airlines – Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, THAI Airways, and United Airlines. These airlines had a vision: passengers should travel smoothly throughout the world; even if flying on different airlines.
The Star Alliance network features over 18,500 daily departures, more than 4,657 aircraft, 1,330 destination airports in 192 countries, and two elite tiers – Silver and Gold. Many airports featuring multiple member airlines are constructed so that all arrivals and departures take place in the same terminal. Star Alliance is “The Way the Earth Connects“.
Traveller Benefits
Passengers flying on Star Alliance member airlines are entitled to a variety of benefits, even without frequent flyer status. These include:
- earning and redeeming miles on every airline
- check-in for all flight segments on every airline
- checking baggage all the way to the final destination on every airline
- all flights are monitored to ensure each traveller has a smooth journey
- automatic protection and re-booking in the event of irregular operations (flight delays, cancellations, etc.)
The key benefits above apply to itineraries with different airlines. For example, let’s say I’m flying from Seattle to San Francisco on United Airlines and from San Francisco to Frankfurt on Lufthansa. In Seattle, United Airlines will be able to check me in all the way to Frankfurt and tag my luggage all the way to Frankfurt so that I do not have to claim it and re-check it in San Francisco.
Business Class on Turkish Airlines
Star Alliance Status Benefits
Once a traveller has collected enough status/elite miles with their Star Alliance frequent flyer program, they will be upgraded to the next Star Alliance Status tier. There are currently two tiers – Silver and Gold. They feature the following benefits:
Star Alliance Silver
- Priority Reservations Waitlist
- Priority Stand-By
Star Alliance Gold
- Priority Reservations Waitlist
- Priority Stand-By
- Priority Airport Check-in
- Gold Track (Priority Security and Immigration)
- Priority Baggage Handling
- Extra Baggage Allowance
- Airport Lounge Access
- Priority Boarding
All of these benefits are alliance-wide. That means if someone holds Star Alliance Gold from Lufthansa, all of the benefits will apply on every single Star Alliance airline (not just on Lufthansa). Star Alliance guarantees all of the above benefits on every member airline.
Some airlines also offer additional benefits to elite frequent flyers within their own airline groups. For example, United Airlines offers complimentary upgrades on a space-available basis to United Airlines elite members. However, if you hold United Airlines elite status, you would not receive complimentary upgrades on Lufthansa as this is a benefit granted by United Airlines to their elite members valid only when flying on United Airlines.
a Star Alliance destination
Earning and Redeeming Miles
You can earn and redeem miles with each airline and each frequent flyer program. This means that if a traveller is, for example, a Lufthansa Miles & More member, they are able to earn and redeem Miles & More miles for flights on all Star Alliance airlines.
The amount of miles earned is set by each frequent flyer program – each one has a criteria for awarding miles and it usually depends on the fare class purchased and/or the ticket price.
You are able to redeem any Star Alliance frequent flyer miles on any Star Alliance airline. This means you can redeem United Airlines miles for travel on Austrian Airlines, for example. All award flights are subject to award availability. The best way to search for Star Alliance Award Availability is on United.com.
In Conclusion
This has been a short overview of the Star Alliance network, member airlines, frequent flyer benefits, and more. It is important to understand that Star Alliance has the most daily departures and the most flight options worldwide. If you need to travel to somewhere, there is a 99% chance Star Alliance can take you there. The entire concept of an airline alliance is for airlines to work closely together in order to transport people and ideas around the world as smoothly as possible – and Star Alliance knows exactly they’re the best at it.