Star Alliance’s CEO on managing the world’s largest airline alliance

Little more than a quarter of a century ago, in May 1997, five of the world’s largest airlines, United Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways, Air Canada and Lufthansa, came together to form what is still the world’s largest airline alliance, Star Alliance. This move kicked off a chain reaction, with some of their direct competitors scrambling to form their own alliances. British Airways and American Airlines led in the formation of oneworld, while Air France had a similar role in the launch of SkyTeam. Fast forward 25 years and it’s hard to find a major flag carrier that hasn’t joined one of these three major blocs. But at the same time, the airline industry landscape has become more complex than it used to be in those early days. Large chunks of a growing market have been swallowed by non-aligned low-cost carriers and large regions of the globe, such as China, India, and the Middle East, have become major nodes in the global air traffic system. And all of this has happened amid a wave of technological change that has turned the distribution and marketing landscape upside down. So, are airline alliances still relevant in 2024? And how can they best serve the interests of their members? Exactly one year after his appointment, AeroTime spoke with Theo Panagiotoulias, CEO of Star Alliance to try to answer to these questions and learn about the way Star Alliance is navigating the increasingly complex environment while striving to provide value to its members. <br/>