Tuesday, 16 December 2008：Star Alliance announced on Thursday the acceptance of Brussels Airlines application into the alliance at the annual Board Meeting of Star Alliance member carrier chief executives.
The Belgian carrier is based in Brussels Airport and operates 300 daily flights to 70 European and African airports.
Bernard Gustin, Managing Director of Brussels Airlines, thanked the executive board and Star Alliance for their approval.
Gustin said, “Brussels airlines is a small airline but it has a lot to bring to the alliance...we have some strong assets and we have a network of 60 destinations all from a very attractive hub – Brussels”
Adding, “We have outstanding airport infrastructure. We’re very close to the city centre and we have a network of 16 destinations in Africa and we have a very loyal customer base that we will be very happy to share with the alliance’s member carriers”
Brussels Airlines will now start on its integration process with the assistance of its sponsor Lufthansa who announced a 45 percent equity investment in the airline in September.
When the integration is complete, the carrier will be able to offer more connections, more frequencies and a global frequent flyer program for customers.
Glen Tilton, Chairman, President and CEO of United, welcomed Brussels Airlines and the new Star board members from Air India, Egypt Air, Span Air and LOT Polish Airlines.
Tilton said the alliance would continue to grow in its sophistication, its ability to address the state of the economy and its challenges as well as grow physically by showing the benefits of membership and attracting new members.
There are currently 21 members in the Star Alliance network offering more than 16,500 daily flights to 912 destinations in 159 countries.
