Star Alliance has begun to extend its reach to more places by inviting a select group of smaller and low-cost carriers to its network as “Connecting Partners.” First to join is South Africa’s Mango Airlines.
The carriers to be added are “friends of the family” that already work with Star Alliance’s 28 existing members. In many cases, they may even be subsidiaries of Star carriers, such as Lufthansa’s Germanwings.
Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab’s statement spoke of convergence between the legacy carriers and low-cost ones, but also indicated that there are gaps that can’t be filled by network carriers, and this scheme will provide an “extended network” for travelers.
The arrangement also means that Star Alliance frequent fliers will earn miles on the Connecting Partners when the flight is part of a Star Alliance itinerary. The first connections, for Mango, are expected by the middle of next year.
