At their annual Board Meeting, the CEOs of the Star Alliance member airlines have today voted to accept the application of Brussels Airlines to become a future member of the alliance. Brussels Airlines is the Belgian airline offering the widest choice of flights to and from the "capital" of Europe. With a fleet of 45 aircraft the airline operates some 300 daily flights to 55 European airports and 15 African destinations.
 
Glenn Tilton, Chairman, President and CEO of United, in his role as chairman of the meeting said, "Brussels Airlines further strengthens the Star Alliance by offering greater connectivity throughout Europe and Africa to better serve the international travel needs of all our customers."
 
Bernard Gustin, Managing Director of Brussels Airlines, said "We are very happy with this invitation from Star Alliance and we look forward to becoming a member carrier. Together we will be able to bring all the advantages of Star Alliance to our customers, both at the heart of Europe where we have our state-of-the-art hub, and to Africa, our second home where we have more than 80 years of experience."
 
For the upcoming integration in Star Alliance, Brussels Airlines will be assisted by its sponsor Lufthansa. Wolfgang Mayrhuber, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said, "Brussels Airlines is known for its reliability and brings into the alliance a trusted product. The leading Belgian carrier will significantly increase the presence of Star Alliance at Brussels Airport and will offer the easiest access to a couple of African destinations new to the network."
 
Through its membership in Star Alliance, Brussels Airlines will be able to offer its passengers a variety of benefits. On the network side for instance, the airline will be able to offer its passengers seamless travel across the Star Alliance network which will expand to cover 1,074 destinations in 174 countries.
 
Frequent Flyers in the Brussels Airlines Privilege programme will be able to collect and redeem miles on all other Star Alliance member carriers. In order to provide all the alliance benefits, the specialised teams at Brussels Airlines, Star Alliance and its member carriers will now be working on the integration process, which once completed, will make Brussels Airlines a part of the Star Alliance network, currently consisting of 21 members.