EVA Air joins Star Alliance
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EVA Air has officially joined the Star Alliance.
The Taiwanese carrier was welcomed as the group’s 28th full member in a joining ceremony held yesterday (18 June 2013) at Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport. It becomes the eighth Star member in the Asia Pacific region and the first in Taiwan. EVA’s main rival, China Airlines, is a member of the SkyTeam Alliance.
“Star Alliance has, since its inception, had a strong presence in Asia Pacific. With the addition of EVA Air to our existing combinations of member carriers and hubs, we further cement our position of providing the strongest network on an international scale to, from and within this ever growing region. We are looking forward to welcoming new customers from Taiwan and serving more travellers on the expanding Cross-Straits market,” said Star Alliance’s CEO, Mark Schwab.
The addition of EVA adds two new destinations – Kaohsiung and Surabaya – to the Star Alliance route map. It also boosts the group’s total network to more than 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries. Importantly for Star, it gives the alliance a strong foothold in the fast-growing cross-Strait market between China and Taiwan.
“Star Alliance membership gives us the privilege of serving new customers from all corners of the globe and introducing our passengers to the seamless services and status recognition that the Alliance provides. As a member, we have the opportunity to introduce travellers to new ways of connecting to destinations throughout Asia via our hub in Taipei,” said EVA’s president, Austin Cheng.
Members of EVA’s Infinity MileageLands frequent flyer programme (FFP) will now be able to collect and redeem miles on all Star Alliance member airlines, while EVA also now forms part of Star Alliance’s Circle Pacific Fare, which allows round-trips on multiple carriers in the Pacific Rim region.
The addition of EVA cements Star’s place as the world’s largest airline alliance, ahead of SkyTeam (19 members) and oneworld (12).
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