Star Alliance, AI officials to meet Govt soon

With Air India's July 31 deadline to join Star Alliance approaching, senior officials of the global umbrella body of airline and those from the national carrier would soon meet Indian government officials to discuss the progress made in this direction.

The Star Alliance, which has leading carriers like Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines as its members, has given the final deadline to the ailing national carrier to fulfill all requirements by then to join the global grouping.

An Air India official said representatives of Star Alliance and Air India would meet officials of the government and the Civil Aviation Ministry to apprise them on the progress made by Air India to join Star Alliance network.

The meeting is also expected to finalise the date of Air India's formal entry into Star Alliance, the official said.

The decision came days after Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav had a meeting with the alliance's Chief Executives Board at Barcelona last week.

"In a meeting of the Star Alliance's Chief Executives Board at Barcelona on June 3, 2011, the Star Alliance GmbH apprised the readiness of Air India to join Star Alliance within July 31, 2011," an Air India spokesperson in Delhi said.

He quoted Jadhav, who attended that meeting, as saying "Air India is looking forward to join Star Alliance, as scheduled".