bryanwallace

after juneyao joining as a connecting partner is it safe to assume there are unlikely to be any other airlines joing star any time soon?

mahasamatman

It's never safe to assume anything in the airline world.

MSPeconomist

This could equally mean that no additional new connecting partners will be joining *A soon.

SK AAR

You are calling for guessing contest?

Nothing reasonable can be predicted on if/when the next carrier will join.

Relevant at all?

bryanwallace

thanks.i take it you all have no idea.

catocony

Some *A airline could buy another airline in three months and add that carrier to the alliance. Or, a *A airline could be bought and leave the alliance. It's rare to go too long without a change in *A membership airlines. Some segment of the global airline industry is always in a state of flux.

mahasamatman

Anyone who actually has an idea would be fired for posting it here.

dvs7310

There haven't been any announcements of any of the 3 alliances expanding anytime soon.

Having said that, watch the Alitalia situation. If they liquidate, you could see LH come in and pick up the dust which may or may not end up in *A.

irishguy28

Extremely unlikely.

Etihad is already doing everything it can to get LH to take on airberlin.

Lufthansa, anyway, doesn't need to spend any money to get a bigger taste of the Italian market [Buying Alitalia would involve taking on massive debts, and turning the business around which nobody else has managed to do]. The remaining players will simply move to fiill the vacuum when Alitalia fails; LH already have more seats to Italy than any of the other European legacy carriers, and can perhaps beef up their Air Dolomiti subsidiary too.

dvs7310

I forget where I was reading it, but heard speculation that they were considering picking up the pieces (remaining assets) after it disolved in BK. Therefore debts and labor contracts are gone. Perhaps it is unlikely as I believe it was more speculation than anything, but you're right, I can't imagine anyone going in pre-BK to save it... their debit and labor contracts must go before there is anything at all desirable there.

MSPeconomist

Labor contracts might be gone, but labor troubles would remain.

irishguy28

Indeed, but I'm not sure what "bits" of Alitalia LH would want to buy. There aren't many assets.

A lot of Alitalia's planes are leased - including the entire longhaul fleet of 14 A330s and 11 B777s - and these planes would almost immediately go back to the various lessors. Malaysia Airlines has already put itself in the running to take over 8 widebodies after an Alitalia failure.

This page suggests that at least 23 of AZ's 40 active A320s are leased. However, given that that website has not correctly noted that all of the longhaul fleet is leased, it is likely to be a higher number than that.

This picture shows a line of Malév jets parked on the tarmac at Shannon airport in February of 2012, on a stopover as they were being flown back to the lessor after the failure of that airline. 12 737s flew in convoy from BUD to SNN en-route back to ILFC.



The slots at LIN and FCO would, most likely, return to the airport operators to be doled out again. (AZ's slots at LHR were sold to EY back in 2014/2015, and AZ leases them back from EY. These slots will stay with EY, who may use them themselves, lease them out, or sell them).

Xiaotung

Is it safe to say Star will lose SN soon once it gets folded in Eurowings?

Avianca Argentina probably sooner or later, either joining as a standalone member like Avianca Brazil or merging with AV.

We might also see more connecting partners such as Mango, Olympic, Air India Express, etc.

JVPhoto

Where is the info or statement that Brussels Airlines is being folded into Eurowings?

bryanwallace

you get star benefits on eurowings anyway(to limited amount)