SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 30, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada, has been elected as the new Chairman of the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board (CEB). He succeeds Rob Fyfe, CEO Air New Zealand, who held the post for the last two years.

"On behalf of all Star Alliance members I thank Rob for his personal commitment, support and leadership in driving our alliance forward and in strengthening relations between the alliance partners. Indeed, we have all benefited from Rob's presence as Chairman of the CEB. Following a highly successful seven-year tenure as CEO of Air New Zealand, Rob has elected to retire at year-end and while we are very sad to see him leave, we know that his contributions to the Star Alliance will endure." Rovinescu said.

In his role as CEB Chairman, Rovinescu will conduct the two annual board meetings and act as the designated spokesperson for the board.

Reflecting on his tenure, Fyfe commented: "I was proud to lead the board over the last two years. The Alliance needs careful steering in these interesting times for the aviation industry and Calin is an excellent choice to lead the group through the challenges to come."

Rovinescu said he was looking forward to working with the board over the next two years to deepen the alliance and pursue shared priorities. These would include strengthening the global network, focusing on providing a seamless travel experience and maintaining the loyalty of customers through superior service and convenience, he added.

"Partnerships are essential to succeed in this business and few partnerships have been as beneficial to their members and customers as the Star Alliance," Rovinescu said.

"It is my determination to see that we continue to foster commercial cooperation among member carriers to further strengthen our position as the leading global airline network."

The CEB is the controlling body of the Alliance and each of the 27 member airlines is represented by their respective CEO. The CEB provides the overall strategic direction of the Alliance, approves the appropriate funding and votes on the admittance of new member airlines.

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 recognised 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, TACA Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, 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. EVA Air has been announced as future member. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 21,900 daily flights to 1,329 airports in 194 countries.

SOURCE: AIR CANADA