Member Carriers Claim a Total of 26 Awards

FRANKFURT, Germany, July 5, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - Star Alliance, the way the Earth connects, has regained the Best Airline Alliance title at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards™.  A total of 26 awards were received by Star Alliance member carriers, including Air Canada that was named Best International Airline in North America.

Jaan Albrecht, CEO Star Alliance said: "Being selected the best airline alliance by more than 18 million travellers is a great honour for Star Alliance. This award is further proof that we are meeting customer expectations to a high degree by providing global reach through our world-wide network, offering enhanced frequent flyer benefits and recognising the value of the international traveller, irrespective of the member airline they are travelling on".

Star Alliance was the first airline alliance to receive the Best Alliance Award from Skytrax, when the category was first introduced in 2005. It held the title in both 2007 and 2009 (at that time the alliance award was only handed out every two years). Since 2010, the best airline alliance has been selected on an annual basis.

The Skytrax passenger survey for the 2011 awards covered over 200 airlines, from the largest international airlines to small domestic carriers, and measured standards across more than 38 different items of airline front-line product and service. The survey was conducted over a 10-month period, surveying more than 18.8 million passengers from over 100 different nationalities across the world. The World Airline Awards™ are regarded as the primary benchmarking tool for Passenger Satisfaction levels of airlines throughout the world - comprising a unique survey format based on analysis of business and leisure travellers and across all cabin classes (First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy class passengers).

The study analyses customer satisfaction for the Airline Passenger Experience, across the Airport and Onboard environments - check-in to boarding, onboard seat comfort, cabin cleanliness, food, beverages, IFE and  staff service.

In addition to the overall Star Alliance award, the following member carriers received awards in individual airline categories:

* future Star Alliance member carrier.

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, 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, Blue1, bmi, Brussels Airlines, Continental Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Spanair, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Air India, Avianca-TACA, Copa Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers 21,000 daily flights to 1,160 airports in 181 countries.