star alliance
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Star Alliance is the world’s largest airline alliance, linking dozens of carriers to give passengers a seamless global travel experience.
History
- The alliance was launched in 1997 by five founding airlines – United Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Thai Airways – creating the first global airline partnership One Mile at a Time .
- By 2017, Star Alliance celebrated its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of growth from the original five members to become the biggest of the six major airline groupings Wild About Travel .
Membership
- As of 2023 the alliance comprises 26 member airlines, including Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels, Copa, Croatia, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, EVA Air, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, Singapore, South African, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Thai, Turkish and United PointsMath .
- A 2025 snapshot lists over 25 members and shows the current roster in a table format, confirming the presence of carriers such as Aegean, Austrian, EVA Air, TAP, Air Canada, Avianca, LOT, Thai, Air China, Brussels, Lufthansa, Turkish, Air India, Copa, Shenzhen, United, Air New Zealand, Croatia, Singapore, All Nippon, EgyptAir, South African, Asiana, Ethiopian and SWISS One Mile at a Time .
- The alliance also includes a connecting partner, Juneyao Airlines, which joined as a “Connecting Partner” in 2017 One Mile at a Time .
Awards and Recognition
- Star Alliance has been named the World’s Leading Airline Alliance at the World Travel Awards for six consecutive years, most recently in 2025 The Bulkhead Seat .
- Its flagship lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) earned the title of North America’s Leading Airport Lounge for the sixth year in a row in 2025 The Bulkhead Seat .
- Skytrax rates four Star Alliance carriers as five‑star airlines (ANA, Asiana, EVA Air, Singapore) and eight carriers as four‑star “Good Airlines,” including Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian, Lufthansa, SWISS, South African, Thai and Turkish Wild About Travel .
Recent Developments
- The alliance announced a strategic shift by opening a new office in Singapore, moving part of its operations away from its long‑standing Frankfurt base Live and Let’s Fly .
- Deutsche Bahn became the first intermodal member in August 2022, allowing train‑to‑air connections and extending loyalty benefits beyond airlines One Mile at a Time .
- Future membership changes are expected: Asiana Airlines is slated to leave after its acquisition by Korean Air, while ITA Airways is set to join following investment from the Lufthansa Group One Mile at a Time .
These points illustrate how Star Alliance has grown from a modest five‑airline partnership into a globally recognized network that continues to expand its reach and innovate across transportation modes.
Wild About Travel All about Star Alliance on their 20th Anniversary
Chances are you have seen The Star Alliance symbol on aeroplanes, airline check-in counters, airport lounges or Boarding Passes. Started by just five airlines 20 years old this week, it is the biggest of the six major airline groupings across the world. These groupings of airlines share sales office, ground support and lounges, code share flights and jointly market their products. The benefit for us, is that the Alliance allows customers to get similar reciprocal benefits across the airline members. By size the alliances are: The Star Alliance’s 27 airline companies now connect 1300 destinations with 4500 planes.
One Mile at a Time Star Alliance Airport Lounge Access Explained
One of the great things about the “big three” global airline alliances is that they offer reciprocal lounge access for travelers. In this post, I want to take a closer look at the Star Alliance’s lounge access policy for travelers, as understanding the nuances of airport lounge access can be complicated. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect that you’ll get lounge access with Star Alliance either if you have Star Alliance Gold elite status, or if you’re traveling in first or business class. That doesn’t consistently apply within the United States (when traveling on United), which
PointsMath Airline Alliances: Blessings for Indian Travellers
Airline Alliances are blessings for Indian Travellers or for travellers from countries that don’t have a sizeable number of International Airlines. So, for a country like India, which only has “Air India” as the face of International Airlines, it becomes essential to know everything about these Alliances. Check this Guide written for Indian Travellers. An Airline Alliance is an agreement between airlines. This agreement allows air travellers to use the services of a single airline or multiple airlines for air travel while sharing benefits across the trip. For Example, you can book a flight ticket from an
The Bulkhead Seat Star Alliance Extends Six-Year Run as World’s Leading Airline Alliance at 2025 World Travel Awards
Star Alliance has once again been named the World’s Leading Airline Alliance at the World Travel Awards 2025. This extends its winning streak to six consecutive years. The recognition highlights the alliance’s continued commitment to delivering a seamless end-to-end travel experience from booking and airport services to connections and loyalty benefits. The award was announced during the World Travel Awards Grand Final Gala Ceremony held in Bahrain. This year’s achievement builds on earlier recognition for Star Alliance as the Star Alliance Lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) was also honored in 2025 as North America’s Leading Airport Lounge
Live and Let's Fly Star Alliance Looks East To Singapore
Star Alliance will open a new office in Singapore later this year, a pivot away from its Frankfurt base which has been a source of both progress and frustration for two decades. Star Alliance, founded in 1997 as the first global airline alliance, operates on behalf of 26 member airlines around the world. Its goal is to provide a seamless travel experience across carriers for passengers, and to work behind the scenes to encourage cohesion and collaboration amongst the diverse group of carriers that make up the Alliance. Frankfurt was established as one of three regional “Business Centers”
One Mile at a Time Star Alliance Adds Deutsche Bahn As First Intermodal Member
In mid-May, Star Alliance revealed a couple of exciting developments, though details were initially limited. Not only is Star Alliance introducing a co-branded credit card, but the world’s largest airline alliance is also adding an intermodal partner. We now know the rail operator that’s joining the alliance, and the full details have been revealed. In this post: Star Alliance is the world’s largest airline alliance, with 26 member airlines. Historically the alliance has been specifically for airlines, but that’s changing. As of August 1, 2022, Deutsche Bahn will be joining the Star Alliance as the first intermodal member.
One Mile at a Time Star Alliance Announces Their Newest Partner Airline
Star Alliance is the world’s largest airline alliance, though the last few years their expansion has slowed down a bit. Perhaps that’s largely because the importance of alliances as such has decreased, as airlines focus more on joint ventures and strategic partnerships. It has been about two years since we’ve seen the last airline join the Star Alliance, though it looks like they’ll finally have a new addition… with a twist. Shanghai-based Juneyao Airlines will be joining the Star Alliance as a Connecting Partner in 2017. Juneyao Airlines is based in Shanghai and has been around for