Star Alliance, which includes, SAA, United, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and Singapore Airlines among its 26 members, has enabled cross-airline free seat selection on 83% of connecting bookings.
The alliance aims to increase that to 90% by the end of the year, Luc Lachoix, Star Alliance VP of Digital and Technology, told travelweekly.com. The alliance also expects to facilitate multi-airline baggage tracking on 60% of alliance itineraries by December.
Star Alliance is slowly expanding its Connection Centres programme, which includes eight airports across North America and Europe. This integrates technology among ground agents to identify and assist multi-carrier customers who are at risk of missing a connecting flight.
According to travelweekly.com, the alliance is working towards seamlessly linking loyalty programmes, accrual, redemption and recognition across all its carriers.
It says it has already created capabilities that enable the crediting of points to an individual's airline loyalty account when those points are accrued flying on other Star member airlines.
Similarly, the alliance gathers information about members' redemption availability, to offer personalised award redemption opportunities across all Star carriers.
In June, Skytrax honoured Star Alliance, naming it the World’s Best Airline Alliance, and 16 member airlines received 47 top awards, including several best regional airline awards.
