Air China & Shanghai Airlines join Star Alliance

Air China and Shanghai Airlines joined Star Alliance in a ceremony held on December 12 at the new Terminal 3 of Beijing International Airport. With the membership of these two Chinese airline companies, the Alliance now has 19 member-companies.

In all, Star Alliance today offers 17 thousand daily flights to 897 destinations in 160 countries, offering its customers more travel options than any other alliance.

On domestic routes alone, Air China and Shanghai Airlines added more than 40 new destinations to the Star Alliance network, thus extending its benefits to an even greater number of passengers.

“China is one of the fasting growing aviation markets in the world and from today with the formal entry of Air China and Shanghai Airlines as Star Alliance members, we are able to offer our customers and an unparalleled network of airline connections in this market”, Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance CEO stated.

Air China is the Chinese flagship airline and designated as airline transport partner to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Quoted on the Hong Kong and London Stock-Exchanges from December 15 2004, its operations headquarters is based in Beijing (formerly Peking), the capital of the Popular Republic of China and is also an important hub for domestic and international flights. Air China also offers services directly associated with aviation such as aircraft maintenance, ground assistance and catering services in Beijing, Chengdu and other cities though its business units and partners.

Li Jiaxiang, Chairman of Air China, stated: “This is an historical moment. Star Alliance – the largest and also fasting growing airline company alliance in the world – has arrived in China, the largest and also fastest growing country in the world. By becoming a Star Alliance member, Air China, the leading Chinese airline company, is ready to begin a long relationship of strategic cooperation with the world's leading airlines".

With multiple investments, Shanghai Airlines is the first Chinese commercial company and was also the first airline transport company from China to be quoted on a stock-exchange and issue shares in 2001.

Zhou Chi, Chairman of Shanghai Airlines, declared: “We are truly enthusiastic about our Star Alliance membership that will enable our company to position itself as a bridge between China and the world via its hub in Shanghai. Star Alliance can thus widen its network so as to cover all of China. In turn, Shanghai Airlines now has the chance to expand its network and reach more destinations throughout the entire world, also offering its customers more benefits and better quality service. With enrolment in Star Alliance, we believe Shanghai Airlines has a brilliant future before it.”

Two Hubs in China

With the aim of providing better connections between international and domestic flights in China, Air China, Shanghai Airlines and the other Star Alliance member-companies that operate in the country are currently working on improving the two primary hubs in the region – Beijing and Shanghai-Pudong.

The opening of Terminal 3 in Beijing is schedule for March 2008 and will become the new for all Alliance airline transport companies that serve the Chinese capital.

At the Shanghai-Pudong airport, Terminal 2 will also be operational in March 2008, thus allowing all Star Alliance companies to operate from the same terminal from that date on.

Benefits for Frequent Flyers

With enrolment in Star Alliance, Air China and Shanghai Airlines will now offer their Frequent Flyers more benefits. So members of the Air China PhoenixMiles and Shanghai Airlines Crane Club can now earn and convert miles from all other Alliance airline companies. In addition to this, miles earned on flights operated by Alliance companies now count towards Air China Platinum, Gold or Silver cards as well as access to Shanghai Airlines Crane Club Gold or Silver status.

In the same way, frequent flyer passengers from other member-companies can now earn and convert miles into flights on the two Chinese airline companies, making the Frequent Flyer programs of all Alliance partners even more attractive.

Fare Tariff Products

With its enrolment, Air China and Shanghai Airlines are now part of and also offer the 11 Star Alliance special fare tariff products, namely the popular Round-the-World Fare, now with even more flight options and allowing customers to choose from a much wider range of options since this now includes the routes served by the two Chinese airline companies.

These are also covered in the itineraries of the Circle Asia and Circle Pacific packages and also part of the Star Alliance Convention Plus, a product specifically created for conventions and meetings.