On May 14, 1997, an agreement was announced forming the Star Alliance with five airlines on three continents: United Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air Canada, and Lufthansa. One is painted in the Star Alliance special livery. Four United Airlines planes at San Francisco International Airport. History 1997–1999: First alliance 'The Star Alliance is Born' – airliners of the five founding members ( United Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International, Air Canada and Lufthansa) of the alliance gathered together, May 1997. Like other airline alliances, Star Alliance airlines share airport terminals (known as co-locations), and many member planes are painted in the alliance's livery.
The alliance has a two-tier rewards program, Silver and Gold, with incentives including priority boarding and upgrades. Star Alliance's 26 member airlines operate a fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, serving more than 1,290 airports in 195 countries on more than 19,000 daily departures. Founded on, its headquarters are located on the grounds of Frankfurt Airport in Frankfurt, Germany, Īs of April 2018, Star Alliance is the largest of the three global alliances by passenger count with 762.27 million, ahead of both SkyTeam (630 million) and Oneworld (528 million), as well as other member airlines. The Star Alliance is the world's largest global airline alliance.
