Thai Airways regional subsidiary Thai Smile Airways is
joining the Star Alliance as its second Connecting Partner member, Star
Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh announced.
Integration of Thai Smile into the alliance, which will add
a dozen destinations to the Star Alliance network, should be complete this
year, Goh said. Requirements for Connecting Partners include interlining or
loyalty program agreements with at least three Star Alliance members, and Thai
Smiles already has such agreements with six members, he said.
The Connecting Partner designation, a model for regional and
low-cost carriers to join the alliance without being full members, added
its first member, China's Juneyao Airlines, two years ago. The alliance has
been looking to revise the model and has decided to focus on subsidiaries of
existing members, like Thai Smile, Goh said. "Many of our members have
been launching different production platforms, and we are conscious that many
customers who were part of the Star Alliance network are not flying on these
platforms," he said.