Star keen to cover China and India

As South African Airways (SAA) and Swiss were formally welcomed into Star, the alliance says it is poised to announce its first recruits in China.
“Star has been looking at adding more carriers located in so-called ‘white spots’ where alliance penetration is poor,” says its chief executive Jaan Albrecht, with the focus on adding members in China, India and Russia. According to Albrecht, an announcement is imminent naming two Chinese carriers that want to join the alliance.
Star has been confident that it can secure Air China as a member.
India is another geographic white spot that the alliances are keen to cover. “The Indian market is one with two major groups – Jet Airways and Air India,” says Albrecht, with Jet Airways seeking to merge with Air Sahara and a merger proposal also on the table for Air India and Indian Airlines. “We are focusing on these two groups and I expect an announcement of an Indian member in 2006,” he says.
26/04/06 Airline Business/Flight International

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