Star Alliance redesigns its website

Following the recent launch of Book and Fly, the reservation engine for reserving and purchasing tickets online, Star Alliance has transformed their presence on the Internet by changing from an information website into a distribution channel.

The new staralliance.com is available now, with its new layout as the most obvious alteration.

“The introduction of Book and Fly required us to redesign our online presence, since our site now allows customers to actually reserve and purchase their tickets instead of just supplying them with information,” explained Christopher Korenke, Star Alliance Vice-President Commercial. “At the same time, we are taking this opportunity to incorporate certain technological advances that have become available over the last few years."

One of the major new features of the new website design is a more personalised touch in the interactive area, where customers give real testimonials about their experience with the alliance. Links to other sites are also suggested.

Changes have also been made to the links to Star Alliance member airline websites. Instead of appearing statically, the airlines’ logos are now displayed in a scrolling window on the right-hand side of the screen. Clicking on a logo brings up further information on the corresponding airline. This new format will make it easier to add the logos of future members when they join.

The site continues to be available in nine languages: Chinese (simplified and traditional), English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.

The navigation toolbar has been made clearer and is now divided into various categories: About, Benefits, Fares, Booking, Services, Business Solutions and Press. These sections cover, for example, general information on the alliance and its member airlines, as well as detailed information on customer offers such as frequent flyer programmes and lounges. Information on business-to-business products such as Corporate Plus, Company Plus, Conventions Plus and the recently launched Meetings Plus is also available.

In addition, detailed information is provided on the 13 different fare products on offer from the Star Alliance network. Through Book and Fly, customers can plan, reserve and purchase Star Alliance Round the World Fares, while the Products Calculator allows customers to plan their trip using any of the Circle Fares or Airpasses on offer from the alliance. There are also links to the reservation engines of its member airlines and information on destinations, visas and health requirements, as well as constantly updated information on flights and baggage tracing.

The recent redesign of the alliance’s website is part of its ongoing transformation. The original website, launched in 1997, was primarily static and information-based. As the years have passed, it has been updated with a range of functionalities and interactive tools with a view to providing more information for the world traveller.