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What Is the Star Alliance Connecting Partners Program?

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Airline alliances have been round for many years. They’ve attract for the airways that be a part of them in addition to the passengers that fly them. Collaborating carriers align their techniques and frequent flyer advantages, and in return they take pleasure in expanded attain to locations past what every airline may fairly serve alone.

Alliance members typically codeshare with one another, which means they’ll promote seats on a associate airline’s flights to assist broaden their international footprint and appeal to extra prospects.

Alliances assist to create a seamless expertise for flyers by aligning insurance policies, perks and reservation techniques throughout associate carriers.

Star Alliance is the most important airline alliance on the earth, with 26 member airways together with:

Flyers who obtain elite standing with Star Alliance take pleasure in reciprocal frequent flyer advantages with different Star Alliance airways, which suggests they’ll earn and redeem miles for flights with any airline within the alliance.

Due to the bills concerned in aligning backend techniques with these of different alliance carriers, it may be costly for an airline to hitch an alliance. Whereas alliance membership may give a small airline nice publicity to prospects world wide, the associated fee to hitch simply is probably not possible.

Consequently, some alliances have created options.

Star Alliance Connecting Companions was fashioned as a method for smaller airways to be affiliated with Star Alliance with out fulfilling all the necessities for membership.

What airways are in Star Alliance Connecting Companions?

At the moment, the Connecting Companions program solely has two members: Juneyao Airways of China and Thai Smile of Thailand. Neither has a worldwide community of locations; as a substitute, they focus totally on home or regional markets. Having a partnership with these smaller airways offers an awesome benefit to Star Alliance member airways as a result of it permits them entry to locations they might not serve on their very own flights; this, in flip, advantages prospects.

The Connecting Companions program additionally offers Juneyao and Thai Smile passengers the chance to purchase tickets to locations world wide on the identical reservation. Whereas Star Alliance already has Air China and Thai Airways as members, every with their very own international community, these two smaller carriers broaden the variety of locations and itineraries Star Alliance carriers can provide.

What are the frequent flyer advantages?

Chances are you’ll be questioning what advantages you’ll be able to obtain as a Star Alliance elite standing member or as a passenger connecting from a Star Alliance member flight. As a result of Juneyao and Thai Smile are Connecting Companions as a substitute of Star Alliance members, the Star Alliance advantages they provide are barely modified.

Juneyao Airways

When booked on the identical itinerary, passengers can now simply join between Star Alliance and Juneyao flights and verify their luggage all over. Incomes and redeeming miles is a little more sophisticated; these perks are solely out there to passengers on a restricted subset of Star Alliance member airways:

Star Alliance Gold elite standing members additionally take pleasure in these added perks:

  • Precedence check-in and boarding.

  • Quick-track safety the place out there.

These Gold elite perks can be found on eligible fares, even when touring in economic system class. The one out there profit to Star Alliance Silver members is precedence standby.

Thai Smile

Passengers flying Thai Smile can join with Star Alliance flights and verify their luggage all over. The flexibility to earn and redeem miles is proscribed to a handful of associate airways:

United Airways, the one U.S.-based member of Star Alliance, will not be included within the checklist. This may occasionally disappoint Individuals with United MileagePlus accounts.

Thai Airways elite members can entry Thai Smile-branded lounges and luxuriate in the next baggage allowance on flights.

Ought to flyers be a part of Star Alliance for these partnerships alone?

Turning into a Star Alliance member requires an airline to have industrial relationships with all different member airways, whereas turning into a Connecting Companion solely requires an airline to have relationships with three member airways. So it’s a lot simpler for a small airline to change into a Connecting Companion than it’s to change into a Star Alliance member.

If in case you have the choice to fly with a Star Alliance member airline as a substitute, you’ll have a extra seamless expertise resulting from reciprocal program advantages throughout member airways. That is particularly vital in case you have Star Alliance Gold standing and are in search of additional perks.

When flying a Connecting Companion, you’ll solely be eligible for Star Alliance advantages on choose carriers, and solely when your itinerary features a connection to a Star Alliance member flight.

The Connecting Companions program expands the attain of smaller regional airways and presents added frequent flyer advantages for some passengers — particularly these with elite standing.

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