Aegean Airlines' membership application to join the Star Alliance has been accepted.
Granting the application, Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht commented, “Aegean Airlines is a welcome addition to the Star Alliance network. Its home market Greece is of strategic importance due to its geographic position in the eastern Mediterranean, acting as the main south-eastern access point into the European Union. Through the Aegean Airlines’ network, our customers will in future gain access to numerous destinations in Greece as well as have more choice on routes within Europe.”
Aegean operates a fleet of 31 aircraft covering 23 routes in Greece, as well as 24 international routes. In 2008, Aegean became the largest Greek airline in terms of passenger numbers.
“Becoming a member of Star Alliance represents both an honour and a great opportunity for our company," declared Theodore Vassilakis, chairman of Aegean Airlines. "In the near future our customers will be able to enjoy the network, privileges and loyalty rewards of the largest and most recognised airline alliance in the world. As we continue to grow in our network and further develop our services, we are committed to become valuable contributors to this great alliance.”
Through its future membership in Star Alliance, Aegean Airlines will gain access to the many markets across the globe with large communities of Greek descendants, such as Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United States.
The integration teams from Aegean Airlines and Star Alliance will begin the integration work shortly, which is estimated to take around 12 months. Once this process is complete, the Star Alliance network will encompass a total of 26 carriers (current 21 and confirmed future members Aegean Airlines, Air India, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines and TAM) and three regional member carriers (Adria Airways, Blue1 and Croatia Airlines).
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