Star Alliance insists its strategy to bring Chinese flag carrier Air China into its family has not suffered a setback, despite Oneworld member Cathay Pacific outlining plans to acquire a one-tenth share.
Last year the Lufthansa-led alliance highlighted China, along with India and Russia, as "white spots" on the global network diagrams lacking significant Star Alliance hubs. The alliance identified Air China as the best fit for its strategy and is understood to have started initial talks for possible entry. However, last month Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways agreed a tentative agreement that would see it take 9.9% of shares at the time of privatisation in a deal that includes scope for future co-operation. Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance chief executive, says: "the Cathay ownership of part of Air China is actually no hurdle to it joining, but we keep out options open. There are three alliances and three major carriers in China, so if it could make sense to admit one of the others."
Meanwhile, Albrecht says joint definition of aircraft is high on the agenda of the alliance, following the pilot scheme of combined specification of regional jets between Air Canada, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa and Scandinavian Airlines earlier this year. Albrecht says Boeing "fully supports this method of standardised aircraft, as it makes it easier for spares, services and other support". Albrecht concedes that individual airlines were sceptical of the project, before they calculated the savings associated with bulk purchasing. The logic has now been applied to joint Jet A purchasing through Star Fuel at Los Angeles, San Francisco, London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports. Brock Friesen, Star Alliance vice-president of financial strategy, says joint purchasing, which includes advertising and computer systems acquisition, has saved members "tens of millions of dollars".
JUSTIN WASTNAGE / SEATTLE
Source: Flight International
