EXPLORE THE MIDDLE EAST WITH THE NEWEST STAR ALLIANCE AIRPASS

FRANKFURT, Germany - February 5th, 2009 - Travelling throughout the Middle East has never been easier than with the newly launched Star Alliance Middle East Airpass. The introduction of the alliance’s 12th fare product has been made possible following the joining of EGYPTAIR in 2008, offering Star Alliance customers an extensive Middle East network covering 28 destinations in 13 countries - Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Air travel on these routes can be purchased with prices ranging from USD 110 to USD 210 per coupon, depending on the distance travelled. Each Middle East Airpass can contain between three and 10 coupons. Travel within the Middle East can be round trip, circle or open-jaw in economy class and may last up to three months.

“With the Middle East Airpass, we can provide our customers with more direct benefits from our vast network. No single airline, nor any other alliance, can offer such a great combination of international and domestic routes,” said Horst Findeisen, Vice President, Business Development at Star Alliance.

The Star Alliance Middle East Airpass can be purchased by customers residing outside the Middle East in conjunction with an international round trip ticket or Round the World Fare to/from/via the Middle East on any of the Star Alliance member carriers.

In addition to EGYPTAIR, Air China, Austrian, bmi, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SWISS, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United offer flights to the Middle East.

Along with the Star Alliance Middle East Airpass, the following fare products are available: Circle Asia Fare, Circle Pacific Fare, Africa Airpass, Asia Airpass, China Airpass, Europe Airpass, Japan Airpass, North America Airpass, South Pacific Airpass, Thailand Airpass and the Star Alliance Round the World Fare.

Customers wishing to make travel arrangements using the various Star Alliance fare products can make use of the online tool to simplify the planning process. The Circle Fare and Airpass Calculator, available on the Star Alliance website at www.staralliance.com/fareproductcalculators allows customers to plan their preferred routings at their convenience, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Once a valid itinerary for the desired trip has been created, it can be transmitted to one of the member carriers for ticketing or printed and taken to a travel agent.

The Star Alliance Middle East Airpass fares in detail:

* The fares do not include taxes, fees, charges or surcharges and may be converted into the local currency using applicable exchange rates.

About Star Alliance:
The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer customers worldwide reach and a smooth travel experience. Star Alliance received the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award in 2008 and was voted Best Airline Alliance by Business Traveller Magazine in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and by Skytrax in 2003, 2005 and 2007. The members are Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, bmi, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Regional member carriers Adria Airways (Slovenia), Blue1 (Finland) and Croatia Airlines enhance the global network. Air India, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines and TAM have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 16,500 daily flights to 912 destinations in 159 countries.