Air India to Debut as Star Alliance Member

Monday, 30th December 2013 at 04:34am

India will soon be represented in the world's first and largest grouping of global airlines, Star Alliance, this year barring any hitches.

The application for membership of Air India in 2011 was finally rejected after it failed to meet membership requirements. Air India, the country's flag carrier, has been rocked by financial problems especially since its merger with another state-owned airline, Indian Airline in 2007.

In early December 2013, Star Alliance officially invited Air India to join again. The invitation is an opportunity for the flag carrier to make its way to the official roster of full members in the alliance after its rejection three years ago.

The flag carrier, according to the Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh, is now more prepared and ready to be integrated into the world's largest airline alliance whose full membership now stands at 28 airlines.

With another 29 affiliate member airlines in its fold, Star Alliance has a total of 57 airlines with a combined route network of 1,329 destinations in 195 countries across six continents, making it also the largest airline grouping in terms of geographical area covered.

Air India, along with most local Indian carriers, has been saddled with mounting debts and financial losses in recent years, driving the local aviation industry into the doldrums. The crisis even claimed the once-mighty Kingfisher Airlines which folded up in late 2012.

Now, the Minister added, the airline has improved a lot in terms of performance, customer service and financial management. It has also resolved its labor disputes with its employees.

He attributed the airline's overall improvement across all aspects of its operations primarily to the acquisition of newer planes that providing better passenger experience as well as its handling of the standoff by a group of pilots early last year.

The labor standoff by pilots was the result of the merger between two state-owned airlines that left a group of pilots from one airline unhappy due to unfair treatment from the surviving management.

Global airline alliances are scrambling to take in an airline or more from the subcontinent to tap the vast market of one of the world's fastest growing travel markets.

Star Alliance, for its part, has reviewed Air India's last application for possible integration into the group to renew its commitment to expand its reach in the region which is threatened by giant Gulf-based carriers.

Other airline alliances, such as Oneworld and Skyteam, are also keen on taking other Indian carrier into their group but the Indian government's policy has been a hindrance to their effort. The local aviation policymaker, on advice of the government, states that they (airline alliances) couldn't take any other Indian carriers without taking in Air India first. Until then, any airlines from India can become a member of any alliance.

By: Pete Lee.