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Star Alliance, the world's leading global airline alliance, firmed up its key management appointments aimed at further enhancing its strategic focus on a seamless experience for member airline customers as they benefit from the Star Alliance network. Ambar Franco joins Star Alliance as Vice President, Customer Experience. Franco will lead the development and implementation of initiatives designed to enhance the overall customer journey across the alliance: their booking experience, the experience of customers at airports and when they connect between Star Alliance member airlines, and then to ensure their continuing loyalty post travel. She brings significant expertise from the travel industry, most recently having held senior customer experience related roles at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Luc Lachoix is Star Alliance’s Vice President, Digital & Technology. Lachoix is responsible for IT architecture, operations, and security, as well as supporting the IT needs of Star Alliance’s Customer Experience and Loyalty business areas. He has served in various roles in the airline industry, including leadership positions at key travel technology companies including Amadeus and Sabre. Renato Ramos is Vice President, Strategy. Ramos drives Star Alliance's strategic initiatives, business planning, and cross-functional collaboration. Engaged at Star Alliance for the last seven years, he previously served as Director, Loyalty at Star Alliance. Renato is a seasoned aviation expert who has held previous roles at Avianca and LATAM Airlines. Gayatheri Silvakumer serves as Vice President, People and Culture and leads the implementation of Star Alliance’s human capital and cultural development vision, focusing on talent retention and organisational development. She has held several senior HR roles across various industries, working with organisations such as McCann Worldgroup, Bombardier and Rolls-Royce. "I am delighted to work with such a diverse leadership team. They bring their extensive experience from within and outside the aviation industry to fast-track our mission of delivering a seamless customer experience at key touch points in their travels,” said Theo Panagiotoulias, CEO of Star Alliance. Ambar, Luc, Renato, and Gayatheri, are each passionate about our vision and executing on it, always with our member airlines’ end-customer in mind.”<br/>

Star Alliance, the world's leading global airline alliance, firmed up its key management appointments aimed at further enhancing its strategic focus on a seamless experience for member airline customers as they benefit from the Star Alliance network. Ambar Franco joins Star Alliance as Vice President of customer Experience. Franco will lead the development and implementation of initiatives designed to enhance the overall customer journey across the alliance: their booking experience, the experience of customers at airports and when they connect between Star Alliance member airlines, and then to ensure their continuing loyalty post-travel. She brings significant expertise from the travel industry, most recently having held senior customer experience-related roles at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Luc Lachoix is Star Alliance’s Vice President, Digital & Technology. Lachoix is responsible for IT architecture, operations, and security, as well as supporting the IT needs of Star Alliance’s Customer Experience and Loyalty business areas. He has served in various roles in the airline industry, including leadership positions at key travel technology companies including Amadeus and Sabre. (Story has more as per release.)<br/>

Star Alliance, the world’s foremost global airline alliance, has announced key management appointments aimed at refining its strategic approach to providing a seamless experience for customers across its member airlines. This move is designed to enhance the benefits of the extensive Star Alliance network. Ambar Franco has been appointed as the Vice President of Customer Experience. In this role, Franco will spearhead initiatives to improve the overall customer journey within the alliance. Her focus will include enhancing the booking process, optimizing the airport experience, and facilitating smoother connections between member airlines. Additionally, she will work to foster customer loyalty long after their travels. With a wealth of experience from the travel industry, Franco most recently held senior customer experience roles at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Luc Lachoix steps in as Vice President of Digital & Technology. He will oversee the IT architecture, operations, and security of Star Alliance while also supporting the IT requirements of the Customer Experience and Loyalty sectors. Lachoix brings extensive experience from the airline industry and has previously held leadership positions at major travel technology companies, including Amadeus and Sabre. Renato Ramos has been appointed as Vice President of Strategy. In this capacity, he will drive strategic initiatives, business planning, and cross-functional collaboration within the alliance. With seven years of experience at Star Alliance, Ramos previously served as the Director of Loyalty. His background in aviation includes significant roles at Avianca and LATAM Airlines. Gayatheri Silvakumer joins as Vice President of People and Culture, where she will lead the execution of Star Alliance’s vision for human capital and cultural development. Her focus will be on talent retention and organizational growth. Silvakumer has held several senior HR roles across diverse industries, including positions at McCann Worldgroup, Bombardier, and Rolls-Royce. These leadership appointments reflect Star Alliance’s commitment to enhancing the customer experience and fostering a culture of excellence across its global network of airlines.<br/>

Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline network, is taking steps to improve the traveler experience with a renewed focus on technology, strategy, and customer satisfaction. In a move that highlights its commitment to both innovation and diversity, the alliance announced key management appointments to ensure an effortless, connected journey for passengers across its member airlines. At the forefront of this initiative is Ambar Franco, the newly appointed Vice President of Customer Experience. Franco is set to redefine the passenger journey from booking to boarding, with the goal of creating a seamless transition between Star Alliance’s global network of carriers. With her extensive background in customer experience, having previously held senior roles at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Franco is bringing a fresh perspective to an industry that’s constantly evolving. “We are laser-focused on the experience at every touchpoint of our customers’ travels, and Ambar’s expertise will be key in driving our mission forward,” said Theo Panagiotoulias, CEO of Star Alliance. Franco will oversee initiatives aimed at smoothing transitions between member airlines, enhancing airport experiences, and cultivating customer loyalty long after their journey ends.<br/>

The Indian government plans a new law to punish those making hoax bomb threats against flights, which disrupt the schedules of airlines and cause massive inconvenience to thousands of passengers. In less than two weeks, more than 120 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan said on Monday that the government is planning to introduce legislation that would put offenders on a no-fly list and amend the 1982 Civil Aviation Act so that they can be arrested and investigated without a court order. On Tuesday, IndiGo, a private Indian airline, said nine of its flights destined for Jeddah and Dammam in Saudi Arabia and some flights from Turkey had received such hoax calls. The flights were diverted to the nearest airports for security checks. "We worked closely with the relevant authorities and followed standard operating procedures,” the airline said in a statement. The hoaxers have largely gone untraced so far. The Mumbai police said they detained a 17-year-old boy from eastern Chhattisgarh state on Wednesday for allegedly posting bomb threat messages on the social media of various airlines. Police officer Maneesh Kalwaniya said the boy's motive was to implicate another person involved in a business dispute with him. The Press Trust of India said 30 domestic and international flights operated by Indian airlines, including IndiGo, Vistara, and Air India, received bomb threats on Monday night alone. "Even though bomb threats are hoaxes, things cannot be taken non-seriously,” Rammohan said.<br/>

An Air New Zealand flight bound for Auckland, New Zealand, from Perth, Australia, was forced to divert on Wednesday morning after a passenger became disruptive, the airline said. The flight landed instead in the Australian city of Melbourne, where police officers awaited the aircraft. The flight continued to Auckland after a 90-minute delay, Air New Zealand said in a statement. The carrier did not give more details about the episode. “Our crew managed the incident well, but incidents like this are distressing for our customers and our people and we have zero tolerance for this sort of behavior on our aircraft,” said an airline spokesperson, David Morgan. The diversion came less than a week after another Air New Zealand flight was held on the tarmac for two hours when it arrived in its destination, Sydney, following what the airline called a security incident. Local news outlets reported there had been a bomb threat. There was “no threat to the community", Australian Federal Police said Saturday.<br/>