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Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines have
joined Star Alliance, adding close to 50 new airports to the
network.
"On behalf of the Star Alliance Chief Executive
Board, it gives me great pleasure to welcome Avianca, TACA
Airlines and Copa Airlines to the Star Alliance family. The
addition of these quality aviation groups strengthens our presence
in the rapidly growing Latin American market," said Mark Schwab, CEO
Star Alliance. "With Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines
our customers now enjoy increased connectivity across the Americas
by connecting through five new Star Alliance hubs right in the
middle of the American continent."
With Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines now being part of
the Star Alliance network, passengers from within and outside the
Latin America region will be able to connect seamlessly through the Copa
Airlines hubs in Panama City (Panama) and Bogota (Colombia) and
the Avianca, TACA Airlines hubs in Bogota (Colombia), San Salvador
(El Salvador), Lima (Peru) and San Jose (Costa Rica).
In addition to the network, Avianca, TACA
Airlines and Copa Airlines customers will also gain access to the
full breadth of the global Star Alliance benefits by using their
existing frequent flyer memberships to collect and redeem miles on
all member carriers.
Those customers with higher status privileges
in the LifeMiles programme of Avianca, TACA Airlines or in Copa
Airlines' Mileage Plus programme will be entitled to the Star
Alliance Gold benefits, which offer priority services across the
whole network, including extra baggage allowance, priority baggage
delivery and access to over 990 lounges worldwide.
At the same
time, holders of Frequent Flyer cards of the other Star Alliance
member carriers will be offered the Star Alliance Frequent Flyer
benefits when travelling on the Avianca, TACA Airlines and Copa
Airlines network.
A further benefit which Star Alliance offers is
fare products both for the corporate and leisure customer. With
the home bases of both airline groups being located in one of the
fastest growing regions in the world, these are ideal markets for
expanding Star Alliance Corporate Plus, Conventions Plus and
Meetings Plus.
At the same time, the popular Star Alliance Round
the World fare can now offer customers routings which include
destinations such as the Galapagos Islands, Cuzco and the Jungles
of Central America as well as many beach resorts in the Caribbean.
Avianca, TACA Airlines serve more than 100
destinations around the world, operating a fleet of more than 150
modern short, medium and long range aircraft. The carrier group
directly employs over 17,000 people and has more than three
million members in its loyalty programme. Avianca, TACA Airlines,
which each consolidate several smaller Latin American carriers,
agreed to a strategic merger in October 2009, creating a combined
network focusing on North, Central and South America, the
Caribbean and cities in Europe.
The two airlines of Copa Holdings - Copa
Airlines and Copa Airlines Colombia - serve 64 destinations in 29
countries. The group recently strengthened its presence in
Colombia, by rebranding Aero Republica to Copa Airlines Colombia.
Copa Airlines' Hub of the Americas at Tocumen International
Airport in Panama City, Panama, is one of Latin America's leading hubs,
with major traffic from the Caribbean, and Central and South
America. Copa's entrance into Star Alliance reinforces its
12-year-old alliance with United-Continental.
As of today, the Star Alliance network is
comprised of 27 members offering more than 21,500 daily flights to
1,356 airports in 193 countries.
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