Aerospace Diary

by  Neelam Mathews , Jan 7, 2016 Star Alliance founder member United Airlines’ network operations center in Chicago keeps abreast of flight planning, weather forecasting, crew scheduling, maintenance control and ATC liaison. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) Airlines pay a steep price for their memberships in global alliances, but with those costs come the benefits of pooled investment in modernizing information technology hubs and connectivity systems. For Star Alliance, the use of technology to accelerate complex booking and operational processes ranks among the chief advantages, according to executives attending a recent chief executive board meeting in Chicago hosted by founding member airline, United. In June, Star Alliance collaborated with Sabre to use an industry-first technology to simplify booking of its Round the World fares. Travel agents connected to the Sabre global distribution system ( GDS ) can now book and automatically calculate the corresponding f...

Neelam Mathews  -  December 28, 2015, 10:00 am (AIN-US)  United Airlines is using its new Boeing 787-9s to develop services to Chinese cities such as Chengdu. [Photo: Boeing] The rapid expansion of seat capacity to and from India by Middle East carriers is impeding United Airlines’ plans to build market share in the country. Instead, United, which already has daily nonstop service from New York to both Delhi and Mumbai, is mainly focusing on expanding operations to China’s secondary cities. Acccording to Brian Znotins, United’s network vice president, the carrier now has more nonstop flights to China than any other  U.S.  airline. “Despite the slowdown of China’s economy, as travel from China grows, we will be there in future,” said Znotins. One new route pending Chinese government approval is a nonstop seasonal service to Xian that it hopes to start in May 2016. Demand for flights to the fast-growing city of Chengdu has exceeded Unite...

Neelam Mathews Dec 19 2014 Read full story on- http://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/12/19/star-alliance-sees-unity-in-diversity-of-culture-and-product/ NEW DELHI: In an era of globalization, increasingly there is a tendency to standardize culture. In this rush to be part of an international cluster, one could easily lose track of the city one is visiting given the disappearance of the national dress and to an extent, local cuisine. It comes as a breath of fresh air when airlines take that extra step to retain a whiff of the best of their national identity. This is apparent in Star Alliance, a membership club of 28 airlines that propagates unity in diversity. Easier said than done? “Not so,” said Star spokesman Christian Klick this week during the alliance’s CEO board meeting in New Delhi. Klick firmly believes that each member airline projects its attitude in service, food, cabin interiors, and crew uniforms, and each makes a big effort to project its ...