STAR ALLIANCE MAINTAINS PRESENCE IN BRAZIL THROUGH AVIANCA BRAZIL

Avianca’s Existing Membership to Include Avianca Brazil. On December 13, The Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance agreed to extend Avianca’s membership of the Alliance to include its partner Avianca Brazil. The unanimous decision marks the first step in Star Alliance’s strategy to secure its position in the Brazilian market following current member airline TAM’s decision to leave the Alliance as a consequence of its merger with LAN.“I am pleased that we have been able to secure Avianca Brazil as an addition to our network in Latin America’s largest country, biggest economy and most important aviation market”, said Mark Schwab, CEO Star Alliance. “Avianca Brazil is an expanding carrier and by working together we can build a network which will provide the essential connectivity we are looking to offer, while at the same time allowing Avianca Brazil to increase its international footprint.”

“Today marks an important day in the history of our company. Being part of the Star Alliance family will be beneficial to our own development and we look forward to welcoming Star Alliance customers in the not too distant future”, said German Efromovich, Chairman of the Avianca Network.
As a first step in the integration process, experts from Avianca Brazil, the Star Alliance member carriers serving Brazil and Star Alliance management will jointly work on enhancing Avianca Brazil’s network. The aim is to facilitate seamless connections via the major hubs in São Paulo – Guarulhos and Rio de Janeiro – Galeão/Antônio Carlos Jobim.

The integration expert teams at Star Alliance, Avianca and Avianca Brazil will now commence the necessary work in order to include the Brazilian carrier in the Alliance during 2014.

Picture:

“German Efromovich, Chairman of the Avianca Network (far right) shakes hands with Lufthansa CEO Christoph Franz (far left) as Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab (centre left) and Air Canada CEO Calin Rovinescu (centre right) look on.”
About Star Alliance:

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Air India has been announced as a future member airline with Avianca Brazil to join under the existing Avianca membership. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries.

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