VANCOUVER, June 7, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada welcomed in Vancouver today the chief executives of more than 20 Star Alliance member airlines.  The annual Star Alliance strategy meeting of CEOs marks the fifteenth anniversary of the world's first and most comprehensive airline alliance that was founded in 1997 by Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, THAI and United Airlines and has since grown to encompass 25 of the world's leading airlines worldwide.

"We are pleased to host the chief executives of our Star Alliance partners in Vancouver for this annual forum to discuss the strategy for Star Alliance going forward," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada.  "Over the past fifteen years, Star Alliance has consistently distinguished itself as the world's premiere airline group.  Star Alliance was founded on the principle of offering customers the reach of a global network beyond what any single carrier is able to do on its own, and rewarding our respective customers' loyalty by providing reciprocal privileges across the world's leading airlines.  Working together to meet our customers' international travel needs has become our hallmark, one that we continue to build as we look for ways to simplify our customers' travel experience and earn their loyalty."

"On behalf of the Star Alliance CEOs I would like to thank Air Canada for hosting our annual Chief Executive Board Strategy Forum during their 75th Anniversary year," said Mark Schwab, Chief Executive Officer of Star Alliance. "While modern technology has greatly improved global communications in the business world, the feedback we receive from our customers confirms our own belief that face-to-face meetings will never be replaced by 'virtual' ones. These regular meetings of our top executives ensure that our strategy continues to meet the changing needs of our customers, even as Star Alliance itself celebrates its 15th Anniversary year."

Examples of Star Alliance benefits for customers include check-in to final destination, faster and smoother airport transfers, reciprocal frequent flyer program mileage redemption and accrual that counts towards top tier status, Star Alliance Gold and Silver benefits including worldwide lounge access and Alliance-wide fare products such as the popular Round the World Fare and regional Airpasses.  For more information, visit www.staralliance.com

About Star Alliance

The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognised by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Blue1, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, United and US Airways. Avianca-TACA, Copa Airlines, EVA Air and Shenzhen Airlines have been announced as future members. Overall, the Star Alliance network offers more than 20,500 daily flights to 1,293 airports in 190 countries.

About Air Canada

Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 175 destinations on five continents.  Canada's flag carrier is the 15th largest commercial airline in the world and in 2011 served more than 33 million customers.  Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 59 Canadian cities, 56 destinations in the United States and 63 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance.  Air Canada customers can collect Aeroplan miles for future rewards through Canada's leading loyalty program, and Top Tier members enjoy reciprocal frequent flyer benefits including lounge and priority services.  In 2011, Air Canada was ranked Best International Airline in North America in a worldwide survey of more than 18 million airline passengers conducted by independent research firm Skytrax.

Note to photo editors: A high resolution photo from the meeting is available to download at www.aircanada.com/en/media