ANA was to join Star on 31 October, completing the realignment of its bilateral codesharing structure to complement membership of the alliance. According to ANA president and chief executive officer Kichisaburo Nomura, Star will form the basis of the loss-making carrier's future business plans.
SIA's deputy chairman and chief executive, Dr Cheong Choong Kong, stole centre-stage at the ANA-led ceremony, however, flanked by United Airlines chairman and chief executive James Goodwin and Lufthansa chairman and chief executive Jürgen Weber - together representing the driving force behind the rapidly expanding alliance.
"Good things take time," declared Cheong, of SIA's long-awaited commitment to Star, pointing out that membership could only come after the carrier extricated itself from a failed trilateral partnership with Delta Air Lines and Swissair. The eight-year tie-up came to a close in September with the mutual divestment of shares between the three. Cheong concedes that SIA has been discussing Star membership for more than two years, beginning within months of the establishment of Star under United and Lufthansa in 1997.
SIA established codesharing ties with Lufthansa in November that year. Since then it has secured bilateral agreements with Star members SAS and United, adding these to codeshare ties with Air New Zealand and Ansett Australia, which joined Star together in March. SIA also has a reciprocal frequent-flier programme agreement with ANA and will forge further Star ties over the next 12 months.
SIA has also signed a memorandum of understanding to codeshare with Air Canada, which, says chief executive Robert Milton, is "getting strong support from Star" against an "illegal bid" being made by Onex and AMR, owner of American Airlines and Canadian Airlines shareholder. AMR wants to buy it and merge it with Canadian, potentially taking it into oneworld.
United and Lufthansa rallied behind Air Canada, confirming the possibility of putting up cash to counter the Onex bid. Milton says Air Canada is "more profitable than ever" and making C$400 million ($270 million) in additional revenue a year because of Star. He says the "only actions we are considering" against the Onex bid "are within Star".
United's Goodwin and Ansett's Rod Eddington have promised still more Star carriers to fill remaining "holes" in the alliance's global network. Eddington pointed to China as "a very important market" and to the UK, the home base of the possible new Star entrant, British Midland.
These developments firmly lay to rest earlier Star intentions to limit membership to 10 carriers. Goodwin confirmed in Tokyo that there is now "no limit on the number of carriers" that may ultimately join.
Source: Airline Business
