Air India set to join Star Alliance by July 2011

Delayed by over two years, the state-owned carrier Air India is set to join the global airlines’ grouping Star Alliance by July this year said top airline sources. According to a report in The Indian Express, the airline has already completed all modalities and has also readied its brand book for entry into the alliance. It is likely to finalise entry details next week. Air India implemented a single ticketing system across its domestic and international network in February, one of the mandatory conditions for entry into the alliance. Prior to this, erstwhile Indian Airlines that was merged into Air India in 2007 followed a separate ticketing system, which hampered seamless connectivity across the merged entity’s network. 

The entry will enable the airline to add depth to its offerings in the international sector by providing passengers last mile connectivity in the foreign countries. “At present, the airline is losing money on long-haul destinations like the US as we cannot provide onward connections to other cities in the US at a competitive cost. For instance, Air India operates non-stop flights to New York and Chicago but has to tie up with local airlines for providing connections beyond these two cities. In a price sensitive market, this increases the total fare for customers on Air India,” said the sources. The average price on the Indo-US routes varies between Rs 45,000 - Rs 50,000, but an Air India passenger shells out up to Rs 65,000 to cover journey beyond New- York and Chicago.