I just flew out of BKK and saw the Thai Airways Star Alliance 767 with the original five Star Alliance carriers paint job.

But then again, with all of TG's financial problems, they probably just don't want to pay to re-paint it...

[This message has been edited by Always Flyin (edited 01-22-2001).]

I've flown 7 of the * carriers in last few months. Seems like they all plug the Alliance on board and in in-flight mags, and at lounges atc. But Ken HAAmer makes an astute point. The one with LEAST to gain is UA, already the world's largest airline, and yes, I can imagine staff being a bit "ho hum" about it all.

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~ Glen ~

Minor nitpick, that's a TG A300 http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif They don't own any 767's... just A300, A330, 777 747, M11....

IIRC the only 767 "Star" livery is UA N653UA. LH, AC have A340's, BD has a 737 and A320, TG has the A300, MX has a 320 and I think a 757, I think Varig painted up a 743?? NG has a 737, OS has an airbus, SQ,NZ,AN don't have one at all. Dunno about SK.


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UA 1P MEL (awaiting 1K
posting!)

Hmm, I doubt that UA has the least to gain. Two things instantly come to my mind:

• prestige: UA, like most US carriers, is big but not necessarily known for exceptional service, modern fleets etc. UA can gain a lot being in an alliance with the likes of SQ, NZ, and yes, even LH
• network: While it is true that UA is one of the largest airlines, its international network is more or less a joke compared to other international airlines. According to the 1999 IATA statistics, UA is internationally a midsized airline (even SR has more international passengers than UA, LH is more than twice as big internationally as UA. See http://www.lufthansa-financials.de/e...any/iata_f.htm ) And UA can gain access to a lot of additional countries.

IMHO all *A carriers can gain a lot from the alliance. Maybe UA staff has not quite realized what they can really get out of *, because the (non-international) staff might have a view that is a bit too US-centric.

NH have the Pokemon plane, surely they get points for that???!!!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif