Press Release 2003

Star Alliance network continues to lead 
 
The latest world air transportation statistics (WATS) published by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) show that Star Alliance, the airline network for earth, continues to lead the competition in virtually every category.

The IATA data, which contains all crucial airline information such as revenue, passenger and capacity figures for 2002 is reassembled into alliance groupings by Star Alliance’s Global Network team.

The research indicates that the Star Alliance network led the field in 2002 with 22% of the global passenger share and 23.4% of the available seat kilometres (ASKs - an indicator of capacity). Both represent increases over 2001 despite a global economic downturn and difficult airline operating environment. The alliance also led rivals oneworld and Skyteam in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs - an indicator of passenger revenue) and fleet size.

“Most of those numbers should increase again this year given the addition of LOT which joins on October 26,” says Stephan Nagel, Director, Route Network – Star Alliance.“

US Airways will further enhance network coverage, particularly in the United States eastern seaboard, when it joins the alliance next year.

Network experts at the Star Alliance Services GmbH office in Frankfurt also update the information on a quarterly basis for alliance carriers in what is called the Star Alliance Scorecard.

Star Alliance was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers global reach and a smooth travel experience. The members are Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines Group, bmi, Lufthansa, Mexicana Airlines, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Thai Airways International, United, and VARIG Brazilian Airlines.  LOT Polish Airlines and US Airways are scheduled to join the alliance within the next 12 months.

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