Air India ready to join airline grouping Star Alliance

NEW DELHI: Air India, the entity born out of the merger of two national carriers, is all dressed up and ready for induction into 17-airline global grouping - Star Alliance.

Air India, whose maiden non-stop flight to the US is scheduled for August 1, will make a presentation about its strengths before working groups of the Star Alliance on September 13, official sources said.

The CEOs of all the member airlines of the alliance would then meet on December 13 to take a final decision on the induction of Air India as a partner, they said.
   
Once the Star Alliance decides to induct Air India, the integration of the airline with other members of the group would take between 12 and 18 months, the sources said.

The alliance, which includes Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and United Airlines, is the largest global grouping. The other such alliances are SkyTeam and Oneworld.

Such alliances facilitate partner airlines to jointly undertake many activities, including those involving passenger and baggage transfers, sharing of airport lounges and other facilities worldwide.